Unapproachable
by JellyBeanHeiress
Summary: Rima Mashiro is a fifteen-year-old Sophomore at a boarding school for smart kids. She planned on enjoying the year with her friends, but then she met Nagihiko Fujisaki. She hates him, but what happenes when she takes a bet that she has to sleep with him?
1. Bet

I walked to the entrance of Seiyo Academy for Academically Advanced Students with my best friends; Amu, Utau, and Yaya.

It's a boarding school for, you guessed it, really smart teens.

I'd wanted to go there for years, but it wasn't until last summer that I actually got the courage to apply. My best friends and I applied together and, as you've already guessed, we were accepted.

Oh. In case you were wondering, my name is Rima Mashiro. I'm fifteen-years-old and I'm a Sophomore.

Amu's a Sophomore, too. Utau's a Junior, and Yaya's a Freshman.

You might be asking: "Hey, how did you guys become best friends? Your ages vary."

That's very simple. We bonded due to the fact that we were the only people in our town that had guardian characters.

What are guardian characters?

They're the embodiment of who people truly are inside. Or what they lack.

Tiny angel-like creatures.

I've had mine since I was young.

I assume the same goes for Yaya and Utau, but Amu got her guardian character_s _(yes, plural) at a bit of an older age.

"Rima, is something wrong?" Amu asked.

"I'm just doing a narrative in my mind. Don't mind me." I replied.

"Weirdo." Amu teased, smiling.

"Did you expect anything less from Rima?" Utau added on to the teasing.

"Don't make fun of Rima-tan." Yaya defended me.

I smiled."It's fine. They're only kidding."

"So, are you all ready to step on the campus?" Amu asked.

"Amu-chi, I'm really nervous." Yaya complained.

"Don't be, Yaya. My brother goes here and he told me it's no big deal." Utau comforted.

"Yeah. Everything'll be fine as long as we don't get ourselves noticed." I said.

"Be confident." Amu added.

We all held hands and walked on to the campus, squealing with excitement and nervousness.

We were all taking deep breaths, when we heard other girls squealing.

We laughed, assuming that they were nervous too. But when we looked around, we saw the real cause of the squealing.

There was a group of five boys walking through the entrance behind us.

The first one we knew: Ikuto Tsukiyomi. Utau's older brother.

The second one was a sporty looking guy with reddish-brown hair. He had a friendly vibe; like he could get along with anybody.

The third one had blonde hair and piercing reddish-purple eyes. He looked like a prince.

The fourth one was really tall, but was clearly younger than the others. He was probably a student in the middle school section of this school. He pushed up his glasses with his index finger; the serious type.

The last boy made me stop breathing for a second.

He was very tall, just like the fourth one, and had long violet hair. His eyes were the color of honey and he had a smile that made me get butterflies in my stomach.

After the last boy walked through the entrance, Amu ran up to him.

"Nadeshiko?" She asked, dazed. "No... Nagihiko?"

He nodded shyly.

Amu hugged him. "Oh my god! I haven't seen you in forever!"

The boy smiled and said, "I'm surprised you remember me, Amu. We only met once."

I walked up to the two of them.

"Sorry to interrupt the mush-fest, but how the hell do you two know each other?" I asked.

Amu turned to me and said, "Don't be rude. Before I met you, I was best friends with his twin sister."

"Oh, great. There's two of him?" I asked, turning to the boy.

I did like him for a millisecond, but now I was focused on how this intruder was stealing my friend.

"They were friends a long time ago." He said, speaking to me for the first time. "Anyways, it's nice to meet you."

"Charmed, I'm sure." I said bitterly. "What's your name?"

"Nagihiko Fujisaki. What's yours?" He asked.

"First name: Noneofyour. Last name: Fuckingbusiness." I replied.

"Fucking business? I didn't know teen prostitution still went on." He said, though his smile told me he didn't mean it.

"Both of you stop." Amu said, then turned to Nagihiko. "Her name is Rima."

"Rima? That's a nice name." He commented.

I couldn't help but blush, but then returned to my anger. "Thanks, but personally, I don't care about your opinion."

"I'd never expect a beautiful girl to care what my opinion is." He said, walking off to catch up with the rest of his group who were far ahead of him.

Oh my god... did he call me beautiful?

No. He wouldn't dare.

That bastard! How dare he call me beautiful while I'm mad at him!

Utau and Yaya came to Amu and I.

"Was that Nade-chan's twin brother?" Yaya asked Amu.

Amu nodded. "Nagihiko."

"Um... who's 'Nade-chan'?" Utau asked.

"Nadeshiko; she was Yaya and I's best friend before Rima moved to town." Amu replied.

"And before we met you." Yaya added to Utau.

"Hey, Utau, Ikuto tells you a lot about this place right?" Amu asked.

"Yes. Why?" She replied.

"Well, he was a part of that group... did he ever tell you anything about it?" Amu asked reluctantly.

Utau sighed. "Yes. They're a group dedicated to being the biggest playboys in school."

"Who are they?" Yaya asked.

"Ikuto, Kukai Souma, Tadase Hotori, Kairi Sanjo, and Nagihiko Fujisaki. They flirt with girls and get them to have sex, then they dump them." Utau replied.

"That's awful." Amu said. "They're such players."

"I know you've always had a thing for Ikuto, Amu, but I'm warning you." She said strictly.

"It's not only that; I just can't believe that all of those boys are like that. Isn't at least one of them sincere?" Amu asked.

"Rumor has it that one of them's just a shameless flirt who doesn't have sex, but I don't know."

"Still not sincere." She sighed. "What's wrong with people these days; just using others?"

That pissed me off.

They're all playboys; which means that not only did Nagi call me beautiful while I was mad, but he did it because he thought I was a stupid girl he could sleep with!

He. Will. Be. Slapped.

"Oh well. That's too bad." Yaya said. "Let's just settle into our dorms."

"About that..." Utau said guiltily.

"What?" I asked.

"The dorms are coed."

"WHAT?" Amu, Yaya, and I screamed in unison.

"Did I forget to mention that? My bad..." Utau apologized, chuckling nervously.

"UTAU! Why didn't you tell us we'd have to share rooms with boys?" I asked.

"Sorry, Rima... I just thought you guys wouldn't apply if you knew that." She said.

"Of course we wouldn't." Yaya protested. "Why- why would we want to share rooms with boys? They have cooties."

"_Yaya_." I scolded. "Don't be ridiculous. But, sharing a room with boys puts us at risk for things _much worse_ than cooties."

"Like what?" She asked.

"Actual things you can get from boys: STDs."

"That's only if you have sex." Yaya said. "Which I'd never do."

"Of course you'd never plan on it, but you never know what could happen if you got caught up in the moment." Amu clarified.

"Ok, let's _not_ talk about sex." I said.

"You're just mad 'cuz you're a virgin." Utau said, smirking.

"Yeah. Totally. Boo hoo I'm not a slut; my life is over." I replied, rolling my eyes.

"Being a virgin isn't something to be ashamed of." Yaya whispered, defending herself more than me.

"Let's face it; Amu and I are the only ones who went all the way before. Catch up, will ya?" Utau said.

"Amu?" I asked. "No way."

I looked at Amu and her face turned as pink as her hair

"I caught her and Ikuto." Utau said.

"Utau! You swore you wouldn't tell!"" Amu yelled.

"Sorry, but I'm making a point. Them being virgins at this age is embarassing." Utau said.

"I'm only a Freshman." Yaya said. "Leave me out of it; I still have a childish character."

"What's Rima's excuse?" Utau-chan asked.

"... I'm not interested in sex." I said.

To be honest, it scared me. It seemed painful and I wasn't ready.

"More like nobody will have sex with you. You're gorgeous, hun, but you're mean to boys." Utau replied.

"I could get somebody to have sex with me if I wanted." I protested.

"Why don't you and Utau make a bet: Rima, you have to lose your virginity before Christmas break or you owe Utau... a footrub." Amu said.

Give Utau a footrub? Ewwwww...

She was a popstar, and being on stage, performing all the time in her ungodly high heels made her feet disgusting. Her feet had more corns on them than a cob.

"Deal." I said, shuddering. "Anyone in particular?"

Amu nodded and backed up a little, as if preparing to protect herself. "Nagihiko."

"HELL NO!" I yelled. "I refuse to talk to him, much less fuck him!"

"Then pay up." Utau said, pointing to her foot.

I considered my options: I had to choose the lesser of two evils.

"Fine. I'll convince him to have sex with me; but not any time soon. I'll show you I can get laid!" I said, very badass-ly.

"Are you sure a bet is worth your values and sexual innocence?" Yaya asked.

"Not quite. But, anything that gets me out of rubbing Utau's feet is worth doing." I replied.

God. This whole bet was like comic-relief.

No way it was serious. Right? 

"Rima, you're not really going to have sex are you?" Kusukusu, my guardian character, whispered.

"If this bet's not a complete joke, I kinda have to."

"No you don't."

"Have you seen Utau's feet before?"

"...OK, you do."

"Exactly."

I walked to the doors, where a woman was waiting with a clipboard.

"Name?" She asked.

"Rima Mashiro." I replied.

"Rima...Mashiro..." She said as she checked off my name from the clipboard and looked in a basket.

The woman pulled out a roomkey with a keychain that had my name and room number on it.

"Here you go, sweetie." She said, handing it to me.

"Thank you." I replied.

_Rima Mashiro. Room 307._

I walked through the campus until I found the Sophomore dorms.

_Room 307... where's Room 307? _I thought to myself.

Another important question popped into my mind; who would my roommates be?

I looked around and saw a door with the numbers 307 engraved in a gold plaque.

"I guess this is it." I whispered to Kusukusu.

"Ooooooh! I'm so excited." She said, giggling. "Kushikushikushikushu!"

I turned the knob and the first thing I saw was tall, violet-haired, and obnoxious.

"Rima?" He asked, staring at me.

"Nagi, get the hell out of my room." I hissed.

"If this is Room 307, then it's my room, too." Nagihiko told me.

He stared at me for a moment longer, and then looked slightly off. As if he was gazing past my shoulder.

"What are you looking at?" I asked.

"I didn't notice your guardian character earlier." He explained.

This boy can see guardian characters?

"Wait, how can you see her?" I queried. 

He opened up his schoolbag and I saw a pink and blue egg, though he only pulled out the blue. It seemed as though he was trying to hide the pink one.

He held the egg up and said, "Rhythm, come out." 

Out from the egg came a chara with long, blue hair and baggy clothes. He looked like a mini-Nagihiko.

"Yo! Nice to meet you. I'm Rhythm." Rhythm said.

"Uh...nice to meet you. I'm Rima." I said.

Rhythm then made his way past me and over to Kusukusu. 

"Yo." He said, hugging Kusukusu as she blushed.

Oh no! 

"Kusukusu, don't betray me by falling for the enemy!" I exclaimed.

Kusukusu backed away. "_Gomen._"

"Sorry." Nagiiko apologized. "Rhythm's a bit of a flirt."

"Like bearer like chara." I whispered.

"Oh. So you heard, huh?" He asked.

"That you're nothing but a big, stupid, womanizing jerk? Yeah, I heard." I snapped.

"That's partially true; I won't deny it. But, I don't take advantage of the girls I flirt with like my friends do."

"Is that your excuse for not being able to get some?"

He glared at me for a moment. "I could 'get some' if I wanted, but sex is special and I haven't met a girl I want to have it with yet."

"How noble of you." I muttered, rolling my eyes. "I'm a virgin, too, but I don't make excuses like that."

His expression softened. "Rima, think what you want but I'm being honest."

"I simply don't believe that someone who's literally in a playboy club would think that way, Nagihiko."

"Like, I said; think what you want. By the way, you can call me Nagi."

I sighed. "Fine. Nagi. Whatever."

This boy gets more and more annoying.

And if he wasn't lying about that "sex is special" crap, then there was only one solution:

I have to make him fall in love with me.

"Also, I'd appreciate if you'd keep that a secret. It'd ruin my rep if anyone else found out." Nagi said.

"What? Is that, like, your biggest secret or something?" I asked, using a less harsh tone than earlier.

_Be nice._ I reminded myself. _Unless you want to end up rubbing Utau's nasty feet._

He smiled at me and started laughing. "Not by a long shot."

Damn. Uh, did he kill someone or something? If that's not his biggest secret by a _long shot_...

"Well, what _is_ your biggest secret? Now I'm curious." I asked.

His chara, Rhythm, butted it. "Ever since he was young, he's been a -"

Nagi quickly covered Rhythm's mouth and whispered angrily. "This is why I don't let you out of your egg more often. Get back in."

Rhythm pouted and got back in his egg.

Nagi put Rhythm's egg back in his schoobag and, once again, I saw the pink egg.

"Are you going to show me the pink egg?" I asked.

He zipped up his schoolbag quickly and said, "There's no pink egg."

"But I saw-"

"Your eyes are deceiving you."

"I'm not an idiot! Why don't you want me to see it?"

"You can't."

"Let me guess; it has to do with your biggest secret right?"

"How'd you guess?" He asked, a bit astonished.

Admittedly, his confused and shocked face was kinda cute.

... Did I just say that?

"Will you just tell me?" I asked.

"I can't, Rima. Maybe someday." Nagi muttered.

"Will you give me a hint?" I pleaded. "It's going to drive me crazy!"

"Fine." He gave in. "Here's the hint: Amu thinks that we've only met once, but we've actually met many times before."

What the hell? How is that hint suppose to help?

"How does that hint make sense?" I asked.

"You're a smart girl if you made it into this school; I'm sure you can figure it out."

I narrowed my eyes. "I hate you."

He sighed. "I know."

A silence filled the air, and I used this opportunity to take a look around the dorm.

It was _huge_. It looked more like an upscale apartment than a boarding school dorm.

There was a bathroom, laundryroom, kitchen, spare bedroom...

Is this really a school for smart kids, or a school for rich kids?

"Isn't there a third roommate?" I asked, still shocked at the dorm.

"My friend Tadase is in this room, too... but he's, uh, helping a girl settle in." Nagi replied.

It didn't take Einstein to figure out what Nagi really meant: _He's taking advantage of a poor, stupid girl. _

What have I gotten myself into?

At least I have until Christmas Break.


	2. Perfect

I stood in the gigantic dorm, when all of a sudden the door opened.

The blonde, prince-like boy from earlier arrived.

"Sorry I'm late, man." He said to Nagi. "This one chick needed help-"

He stopped mid-sentence and stared at me. 

"Do I have something in my teeth?" I asked.

"No. Sorry. Nice to meet you." He said, holding out his hand.

I shook it. "Nice to meet you, too. I guess."

"Tadase." He told me his name.

"Rima." I replied. "If you must know."

I quickly let go of his hand; he's another playboy, so who knows where it's been.

I turned to Nagihiko. "Take my bag to the spare room. I'm going to freshen up."

Before he could reply, I handed him my bag and headed to the bathroom.

**Nagihiko's POV**

Hotori-kun waited until Rima was in the bathroom to talk again.

"Damn! She's our roommate? She's hot." He said.

"Duh. Rima's gorgeous." I said. "Too bad she's a major bitch."

"Who cares? I'd hit that in a second." Tadase said.

"Please don't talk about sex around me." I said,

"Oh, the virgin's embarassed." He teased.

"I remember when you used to be polite and innocent." I muttered.

"Sorry. Ikuto's influencing me." He apologized. "Inside, I'm still the same person."

"How the hell are we able to hang out with Ikuto anyways?" I asked. "He's a Senior and we're Sophomores."

"He's kinda like my big brother, so he hangs with me and my friends; that includes you."

"I guess that's why." I said nonchalantly.

"I wanna talk more about Rima." He said, grinning.

"Why?" I asked. "She's a First Class man-hater."

"Think she's a lesbian?" He asked.

"I don't know." I said. "I just... don't think she'd be interested in us."

"Who?" I heard a soft, high-pitched voice ask out of nowhere.

I jumped. "Don't scare me like that!"

"You didn't answer my question, dumbass." Rima hissed.

"Nobody." I said.

All of a sudden, I could hear a grumbling.

"What's that?" I asked.

Rima's face flushed bright pink. "My stomach."

"Are you hungry?" I asked.

She glared. "_No_. My stomach does that when I'm full."

I sighed. "Dumb question, I know."

"I'm starving." She said. "I was so excited to come to this school that I haven't eaten in two days."

Poor Rima. Her stomach must be pleading for food.

I looked down and noticed I was still holding her bag.

"Give me a second to take your bag to the spare room and I'll make something for you to eat." I said.

"Thanks, but I don't want to get food poisoning." Rima said.

I rolled my eyes and went to the spare room, where I dropped her bag.

I headed towards the kitchen of our dorm and Rima followed.

"I said don't cook for me." She snapped.

"Would you rather wait another day until the cafeteria starts serving food?" I asked, knowing she would give in.

Her stomach growled once more.

She pouted like a child. "Fine. Only because I'm starving and I can't cook."

Rima left the kitchen and was soon replaced by Tadase.

"If she's so mean to you, why are you so nice to her?" He asked.

"I like her." I admitted.

"Why? Because she's pretty?" Tadase queried.

"Nah." I replied. "There's lots of pretty girls here. I don't think that's why."

"Then why?" He asked.

"I don't know. Girls usually fall over themselves for us; she's different."

"Ah. So you're into the hard-to-get type." He said.

I ignored him and checked in the cupboards too see if there was any food pre-placed there.

There was enough ramen to last a year.

"Ugh." I complained. "I guess I'll have to go off-campus this weekend to grocery shop. Eating that much ramen can't be healthy."

I sighed. I guess I had no choice.

It was simple to make, but it was only noodles. There were no ingredients to make it come to life.

Being somebody who loves cooking and excels at it, this upset me. 

"It'll be edible." I said to myself reluctantly. "At least she'll have something to eat."

"Don't you work for the lunch lady?" Tadase asked. "Y'know, because you're a goody two-shoes."

"Yeah." I replied, wondering why he felt the need to add the last part.

"Well, I can tell you're worried about the plainness..so why not ask the lunch lady if you could borrow some ingredients?" He suggested.

That was actually a good idea.

"I'll be back in a few." I said, leaving the dorm.

**Rima's POV**

I sat in my new room.

Everything was already unpacked and, since classes don't start until tomorrow, I decided to take this time to relax.

Now that I had food on my mind, I was even hungrier than before.

Damn my loss of appetite for the past two days.

I turned on my laptop and signed in on my instant messenger so maybe I could distract myself.

I got an IM from, who else? Utau.

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: Hey, Rima. Any luck?**

**clowngirl15: Oh, yeah. Totally... Not. It's only been an hour, you know -_-**

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: Are you kidding me? All you'd have to do is ask. He's a playboy and you're a pretty girl. **

**clowngirl15: I'm not pretty! And anyways, he's one of those people who think sex is special... he's waiting for someone he cares about. **

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: OMG! **_**He's **_**the secret virgin of the playboy group? How did you find this out?**

**clowngirl15: You learn a lot about a person when you share a room with them...**

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: You share a fucking **_**room**_** with him and he still won't have sex with you? Wow. Um... you're kinda screwed... or, technically, **_**not**_** screwed. **

**clowngirl15: Fuck you! I can get laid! **

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: Just not by him! HA!**

**clowngirl15: Hey, I haven't even talked to him about it yet. **

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: Just ask him "Hey, wanna have sex?". Unless you're chicken.**

**clowngirl15: ...T_T damn it! Why do I have to lose my VIRGINITY** **to him? Can't it be to someone else who'll actually be willing? **

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: What do you mean **_**someone who'll actually**__**be**__**willing**_**? Are you gonna rape him or something?**

**clowngirl15: Maybe ^_^ Who knows what I'd do to avoid your nasty-ass feet? HA! No way. I'm gonna have to do something much worse: make him fall in love with me. **

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: Uh.. hun, I'm telling you this because I love you: you're a bitch. **

**clowngirl15: I can feel the love -_- **

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: ... :/ you know what I mean. You're mean to boys. **

**clowngirl15: *sigh* I know, I know. But... if I can't make him fall in love with me... maybe I can seduce him.**

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: lol!**

**clowngirl15: What's so funny? **

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: Sweetie, you're just too adorable to be seductive. It'd be like a baby doll trying to be sexy.**

**clowngirl15: I'll cross my fingers and hope he's a pedophile then. Apparently I look like a fucking little girl. **

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: You're 15, 4'9" and doe-eyed... OF COURSE YOU LOOK LIKE A FUCKING LITTLE GIRL! **

**clowngirl15: ...and your point is?**

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: UGH! When you eventually have to give me a footrub, use cocoa butter.**

**clowngirl15: NOOOOOOO! A-anything but a footrub. Please. I know I'm gonna lose, but please! SPARE MY SOUL!**

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: Drama Queen... God, are my feet really that horrible?**

**clowngirl15: I'm willing to give up my sexual innocence to avoid them... they're pretty damn bad. I have nightmares about them sometimes. **

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: STFU! You do not. **

**clowngirl15: Ok, my nightmares are pretty much always about the night I was kidnapped. But I'm still not going near your feet. **

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: I'm not changing the bet. **

**clowngirl15: Amu made the bet for us anyways. We have the right to change it. **

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: I don't want to. **

**clowngirl15: Can I just change one thing?**

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: One more word about my feet and I swear-**

**clowngirl15: Not about your fucking feet! Can't I just lose my virginity to anyone? **

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: Nope. Sorry. End of discussion. You must fuck the long-haired playboy. **

**clowngirl15: But-**

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: END OF DISCUSSION! D: **

**clowngirl15: AHHHHH D': U-UTAU YOU'RE SCARY! **

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: MWAHAHAHA :]**

**clowngirl15: Utau-chan! **

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: ^_^ teehee**

**clowngirl15: :/ not funny. **

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: I have to go. My roommate's bothering me. TTYL **

**clowngirl15: bye**

***Meikyuu_Butterflyxo has signed off***

Well, that was distracting for a few minutes. But now I'm hungry again.

Ok, something else to distract me...

Nothing.

Nothing.

Nothing.

Is anybody else on instant messenger?

I checked my friends list and there was one more person signed on: StrawberryChan01

**clowngirl15: Hey Amu :D **

**StrawberryChan01: Hey Rima. Uh, what's up? **

**clowngirl15: I'm bored and trying to distract myself. **

**StrawberryChan01: Why?**

**clowngirl15: Because I'm starving and Nagi said he'd make something for me, so I'm waiting for him. **

**StrawberryChan01: AWWWWWW! **

**clowngirl15: -_- Really, Amu, really? You're gonna "awww" at that? **

**StrawberryChan01: That's sooooo sweet! I think he likes you. **

**clowngirl15: Nah. He's just a playboy who doubles as a goody-goody. **

**Strawberry01: So, is he your roommate? **

**clowngirl15: Yeah. Him and Tadase are my roommates. **

**Strawberry01: I think Utau mentioned the name Tadase... isn't he another playboy? Which one is he? **

**clowngirl15: Yup. Another no good playboy. He was the blonde one. **

**Strawberry01: Oh I saw him. He was pretty cute.**

**clowngirl15: AMU! **

**Strawberry01: I like what I like.**

**clowngirl15: T_T you're hopeless. You had sex with Ikuto, and now you're attracted to **_**another**_** playboy?**

**Strawberry01: Hey, I was only like thirteen or something when I had sex with Ikuto. It was a long time ago. **

**clowngirl15: ...Would you be offended if I asked something? **

**Strawberry01: What? **

**clowngirl15: What's it like?**

**Strawberry01: What's **_**what**_** like?**

**clowngirl15: sex. **

**Strawberry01: I can't really describe it... it's like you're high, and your heart's beating at a thousand beats per second. Your mind is focused on the person you're with; like nobody in the world means more to you. It comes naturally, but you're scared. You wonder if you're doing it right, but there's no time to worry because you feel so good. **

**clowngirl15: Doesn't it hurt? **

**Strawberry01: Maybe for a little while. I've only had sex once, so I'm not an expert or anything.**

**clowngirl15: D: I'm scared. I'm thinking about telling Utau that I give up. **

**Strawberry01: Gross. Do you want to have fungus on your hands after rubbing her feet? You can't give up. **

**clowngirl15: EWWW! Damn it, Amu! I haven't eaten in two days; don't make me lose my appetite now. **

**Strawberry01: Just stating the facts.**

**clowngirl15: Yuck. Just yuck. So who are your roommates? **

**Strawberry01: Lulu DeMorcerf and Yua Sakurai.**

**clowngirl01: Lulu... that sounds familiar. **

**Strawberry01: In sixth grade, Lulu came to our town from France. That's why her name sounds familiar. **

**clowngirl01: How come you get two girls as your roommates? :( **

**Strawberry01: Because I'm lucky :]**

**clowngirl15: -_-' yes, you are. bye now, because i'm jealous and its pissing me off. **

**Strawberry01: Because getting you pissed is hard to do.**

**clowngirl15: Exactly. Bye. **

***clowngirl15 has signed off***

I looked at the clock on my laptop and realized that an hour had already passed.

Whatever Nagi planned on making should be done soon.

I walked out of the room towards the kitchen and found Nagi standing over a boiling pot.

He gradually added spices to whatever he was cooking and mixed all the flavors.

Nagihiko must have sensed I was staring and he turned around.

"Oh, hey Rima. Sorry; this would've been done sooner but I had to ask the lunch lady if I could borrow some ingredients." He said.

"You did that for me?" I asked, surprised.

He smiled, but said nothing.

I walked closer to him and looked at what he was cooking.

Ramen.

"Yeah, I know; ramen. Sorry. It's the only thing we had. I'll go off campus to grocery shop this weekend." He said.

Living in this dorm with him was already starting to feel like I was married, but I hated him.

Great. Now I'm like my mother.

"Where's Tadase?" I asked, noticing his absence.

"I don't know. He must have left while I was gone." Nagi replied, stirring the ramen in the pot.

"So it's just us?" I asked.

"I guess so." He responded distractedly, focusing on the food.

I smelled the ramen and my hunger pains raged on.

It smelled absolutely delicious. I could smell the broth, and the distinct scent of oregano tickled my nose.

I have to give credit where credit is due; his cooking smells incredible.

I just hope it tastes as good as it smells.

"It's done." Nagi said.

He pulled two bowls out of the cupboard and filled them both.

"So we're eating together?" I asked.

He looked at me for a moment. "Is that OK with you?"

"I guess if I get sick, I'll have someone to puke on." I replied, shrugging.

Nagihiko chuckled. "That's the spirit."

To be honest, I was really nervous.

To me, eating food was something intimate.I wasn't used to eating with others.

Especially not with a boy. Especially not with a boy that I hate, and that I may or may not be attracted to. Yes, I realize that's a contradiction.

He set the bowls on the table and we took our seats. Side by side.

I could hear my heart beating, and I was glad he wasn't trying to hold a conversation.

I grabbed a fork and took my first bite of the boiling hot noodles.

For a second, I spaced out.

It was so... delicious. I never had anything like it. To think this was just pre-packaged ramen.

Because of his cooking skills, Nagihiko went from a 10 to a 6.5 on my hate-o-meter.

I had no idea he could cook like this.

The spices mixed together perfectly.

Of course, my empty stomach could be deceiving me.

"This is good." I said after I was finished, though I knew it was an understatement. "I didn't know you could cook like this."

"I'm glad you like it." He said.

"...This is incredibly awkward isn't it?" I asked.

"Sorta. You're very tsundere." Nagi replied.

"Tsundere?" I asked.

"Tsundere means... kinda like hot and cold. Being mean and nice." He replied.

"Hmm..." I considered. "I guess you're right. I am tsundere."

He smiled. "I like your non-bitchy side."

"Cook more often and you'll see more of it." I muttered.

"Alright. I love cooking." He said.

"You do?" I asked. "Is it like... a passion of yours?"

"A passion?" He asked. "Not really. My real passion is dancing."

"You're a dancer?"

Damn. Nagihiko just gets more and more bizarre with every second.

He blushed. "Yeah. It's embarassing, I know."

"Not really. It just depends on your dance style. Your chara had baggy clothes, so I'm assuming you're a hip-hop dancer."

"I _am_ a hip-hop dancer... sometimes."

"What do you mean sometimes?" I asked angrily.

Grrr! More secrets!

He laughed. "Ha! I'd tell you but you're so cute when you're pissed."

"I won't seem so cute when I'm castrating you with my bare hands." I hissed.

He flinched. "Just the thought of that hurts."

I smirked in satisfaction. "Now tell me, and stop being so cheeky."

He smirked, too. "It has to do with my biggest secret. Like I told you before, you have to figure it out yourself."

This stupid boy was making me so fucking curious I could explode!

Of course, I'd never give him the satisfaction of knowing that.

"Trying to figure it out is a waste of time. I don't care enough."

"Whatever. By the way, I take back what I said earlier; your bitchy side is much more fun." Nagi said, still smirking.

"How so?"

"Because it's entertaining."

He was starting to really piss me off.

Looks like he's back to a 10 on the hate-o-meter.

"Do you think I'm a clown? Do I amuse you?" I asked.

"Based on your chara, yes I think you're a clown. Do you amuse me? Yes."

"Close, but no cigar. I love comedy; I'm not a clown."

"I still find it hard to believe that you're interested in anything that has to do with humor and comedy."

"Why is that so hard to believe?" I asked.

"You're just... serious. You don't have a good attitude, either. Two things that aren't a good mix for comedians."

"I can have a good attitude. Of course, it's reserved for people who aren't complete assholes."

"Oh, darn. I forgot that I'm a complete asshole. My bad." Nagi said, rolling his eyes. "I forgot that you're perfect."

I smiled. "As long as you remember that I'm perfect, we won't have any more problems."

He laughed. "Ok, I'll try to remember."

This vibe... it was different.

The way we were communicating was different, too.

To somebody naive, it might have been mistaken for flirting.

"You have a pretty smile." He said. "It's a shame that you hide it."

I couldn't stop myself from blushing.

Damn it! I've been trying to convince him that he's the object of my hatred, but then I go around blushing whenever he compliments me.

Grr!

"Th-thanks." I stuttered, and my smile turned idiotic and dopey.

Now I'm stuttering? What the hell is wrong with me?

Why am I getting so embarassed?

I think he's attractive, sure, but I don't like him. There's no reason for me to get so worked up.

How am I supposed to win the bet if I keep making an idiot of myself?

Fuck. My. Life.

**Yay! End of second chappie ^_^**

**Thanks everyone for reviewing! It really made me happy. **

**Sorry this chapter sucked. I'm a very uncreative person. **

**Anyways, please review. **


	3. Like

I stood there, silent, still smiling like an idiot, when I heard the door open.

"Ah, I sense a good vibe." I heard a rough, but friendly-sounding voice say.

I turned to see the sporty-looking, reddish-brownish haired playboy from the group enter through the door.

Tadase followed quickly behind.

I blushed, remembering what the sporty playboy had just said. I immediately stop smiling and used my normal face, or as it's usually called, _bitchface._

"There's no good vibe. Your senses are way off." I told him.

"Guess I was wrong." He said, shrugging. "What's your name, beautiful?"

"I'm not beautiful." I corrected harshly. "My name is Rima. I guess it'd only be polite to ask yours."

He stuck out his arm and raised his thumb. "The name's Kukai."

"I'm guessing you're a jock. What sports do you play?" I asked.

"I'm the captain of the soccer team." Kukai answered, turning to Nagi.

"I'm on the basketball team, too, but Fujisaki-kun's captain of that." He added bitterly.

"A dancer, a playboy, and captain of the basketball team." I muttered, looking Nagi in the eyes. "What kind of bizarre human being are you?"

"It's gets even more bizarre." Kukai said, laughing. "He's a-"

I could see Nagihiko tense up and he looked like he was preparing speech for his own death.

For some odd reason, Tadase suddenly covered Kukai's mouth.

"_Arigatou_,Hotori-kun." Nagi said, sighing in relief.

"Kukai, be more careful. It's not your secret to tell." Tadase said.

"WILL SOMEONE JUST TELL ME THE GODDAMN SECRET?" I yelled.

Immediately Nagihiko- the cheeky bastard- smirked. "It's funny how you are so indifferent to most things, yet my secret drives you crazy."

"Will I _ever_ find out?" I hissed.

"Only if you earn my trust; which will take a long time." He replied.

"Fuck it. I give up." I groaned.

"Ah, c'mon, where's your initiative?" Nagi asked.

"Take the dick out of your ass and maybe you'll find it." I said venomously.

He was really starting to piss me off.

To think that I _ever_ liked him even for a second…

That's one second of my wasted time I'll never get back.

"What the hell's your problem? I'm only teasing you." He replied, offended.

"Aw man." Kukai complained. "Why are the pretty ones always bitches?"

"Sometimes you have to be a bitch." I said. "Otherwise people will think they can hurt you."

"But you can't be happy if you never relax and laugh." Kukai replied.

"Laughter is foolish. It's something weak people use to escape." I replied, looking at the ground.

I learned that a long time ago. Laughter and comedy is stupid. My parents made sure I knew that.

In the real world, you can't rely on laughter. Laughter's for the weak; it's the only medicine for people who are crying on the inside.

"That's something odd to hear from someone who supposedly wants to be a comedian." Nagi said seriously.

"I said I wanted to be; not that I was ever going to be." I replied.

"Why not?" He asked.

"My parents shed some light on me. Funny things are foolish. Sometimes people have to just grow up."

"Funny things are not foolish." Nagi muttered.

"Says the dancing, basketball-playing playboy who can't even get a girl to have sex with him." I hissed. "Your whole life's foolish. You can't say what's foolish and what's not!"

"That's out of line." He said, glaring.

"Both of you, calm down." Tadase intervened. "You're roommates; you have to learn to get along."

"Get along with him? I'd rather slit my wrists." I replied.

"I'd rather you did that, too." Nagi mumbled.

"Go to Hell!" I yelled.

"I'll meet you there!" He retaliated.

"I hate you!"

"I hate you more!"

"Guys-" Tadase tried to interrupt.

"Leave them alone." Kukai urged, grinning. "This could get hot."

"SHUT UP, KUKAI!" Nagi and I screamed in unison.

Nagihiko and I were glaring at each other and the room was silent.

I hate that stupid bastard! I hate him! I hate him! I hate him!

"Why are you here?" Nagihiko finally spoke; talking to Kukai.

"I wanted to ask if you were going to see the fireworks tonight." Kukai replied. "You know… to celebrate the first day of school."

"No." The stupid playboy replied. "But, uh… _Nadeshiko's_ got a dancing gig on campus, so _she'll_ probably stop by."

Kukai nodded, and his eyes widened as if understanding something.

"Oh, so I'll meet your whore of a sister?" I asked.

"Was I talking to you, chibi?" He replied.

"Do you think I care if you were talking to me or not?" I hissed.

He sighed. "No, I don't think you do."

"Good. You're catching on quickly." I said with a sarcastic sense of praise.

"I'm not stupid, you know. That's why I'm here at this smart school; which I regret now." He replied.

"Why do you regret it?" I asked.

"My roommate's mean." He told me.

"That's no way to talk about Tadase." I replied, pretending that it wasn't obvious he was talking about me.

"You know what? Forget it. It's useless talking to you." Nagi replied.

All of a sudden there was a knock at the door.

Who the hell could be here?

I went to the door and I saw a TV crew.

There were boom mics, a camera, and a reporter.

"Is Nagihiko Fujisaki here?" The female reporter asked.

"Uh… why?" I asked.

"He's one of the richest, most well-respected young heirs in Japan. We're here for an interview."

"I don't respect him. I didn't even know he was an heir." I corrected. "But he's here."

"Hey, dancey-pantsy, some reporter's here!" I yelled.

Nagihiko came to the door, looking rather embarrassed.

"Hi." He said to the reporter.

"Hello, Fujisaki-sama. Nice to meet you. I'm Chiyo Itou." She said.

"Nice to meet you." He replied.

"When the camera rolls, just answer all the questions I ask, alright?" She instructed.

"OK." The dumbass agreed.

Chiyo turned to the camera , which was now rolling.

"Hello. I'm Chiyo Itou. Today I'm here with Fujisaki Dance Academy heir and professional dancer: Nagihiko Fujisaki." She said.

Nagihiko waved to the camera shyly as Tadase and Kukai jumped around in the background.

I walked out of the view of the camera, hoping not to be filmed. My parents watch the news, and they didn't need to find out that I share a room with boys.

Why was he being interviewed anyways? He's nothing special. A dance academy heir? Who'd be interested in that?

But, I did find another reason to hate him.

The reporter told me he was one of the _richest, most well-respected young heirs in Japan._

He's a stupid little rich boy!

"Now, Fujisaki-sama, before I get to the actual interview, may I ask a quick question?" The reporter asked.

"Uh, sure. Go ahead." He replied.

"When I knocked at the door, a cute little blonde girl answered. Is she your girlfriend?"

I could feel my cheeks burning. I completely made disrespectful comments about him in front of the reporter, yet Chiyo still made that assumption?

Unless….reporters really do like to stir up trouble for the media.

"No way!" Nagihiko exclaimed. "She's cute and all, but not girlfriend material. She's just my roommate."

I didn't know whether to be glad he cleared that up, or offended that he said I'm not girlfriend material.

As if I'm not good enough for that idiot.

"He's right. I'm not his girlfriend; he's a homosexual!" I yelled off-camera.

"_Rima!" _He hissed, and then he turned back to the reporter. "I'm not gay."

Shit! He said my name!

Damn it. If my parents are watching, I'm in trouble.

"Ok, Fujisaki-sama. Now to the real interview."

I walked back to my room (the spare room) and got on my laptop again.

Utau was back online.

**clowngirl15: Utau! Tell me your room number now! I need to get out of this hell hole. **

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: Sheesh. It's Room 204. What's your problem?**

**clowngirl15: Apparently Nagi's some stupid heir. A spoiled rich boy. Some reporter's here interviewing him. **

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: Uh…. Yeah, I kinda knew that about him already. Sorry about not giving you a heads up. **

**clowngirl15: Anything else you forgot to mention that's important? Is he Superman? A male model? A crossdresser? **

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: …. **

**clowngirl15: You know I was kidding right? **

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: Oh, yeah. Of course.**

**clowngirl15: How do you know stuff about him anyways?**

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: Well, he and the rest of the guys would come to my house to hang out with my brother. Eventually I learned things. Kukai, Tadase, Nagi, Kairi…. I know **_**tons**_** of stuff about all of them.**

**clowngirl15: Yet you didn't know he was the secret virgin of the playboys until I told you -_-**

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: Well, I try to avoid talking about sexual things with boys. It gets awkward. **

**clowngirl15: If I actually get him to sleep with me, it's gonna be a disaster, you know that right? Neither of us is gonna know what we're doing. **

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: HAHA! A double deflowering full of FAIL. **

**clowngirl15: Fuck. You. So you actually know stuff about Nagihiko?**

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: Uh, yeah. Why?**

**clowngirl15: Because…. Well, I found out that he has a big secret. He keeps teasing me about not knowing it. I can't figure it out, though. Do you know?**

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: Yes.**

**clowngirl15: Will you tell me?**

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: No.**

**clowngirl15: You had no problem telling me about Amu's one night stand with Ikuto! **_**That**_** was a secret! Why won't you tell me this?**

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: Sorry. A petty one night stand secret is pathetic compared to what his secret his. His life would literally be ruined if you found out. **

**clowngirl15: Why are you allowed to know and not me?**

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: Because I'm not gonna use it against him. **

**clowngirl15: But I wouldn't-**

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: That's exactly what'd you do. Besides, if anybody else is going to find out, it should be Amu. It's more relevant to her.**

**clowngirl15: Can you at least give me a hint?**

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: If I do, will you quit your bitching?**

**clowngirl15: yes.**

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: *sighs* Let's just say… I lied about not knowing who Nadeshiko was.**

**clowngirl15: That's your hint? That doesn't make sense! Both of you are confusing as fuck.**

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: He gave you a hint, too?**

**clowngirl15: Yup. He said "Amu thinks we've only met once, but we've really met lots of times." Or something like that.**

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: Believe me, that hint makes sense. **

**clowngirl15: Don't say that makes sense, because it doesn't. **

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: Rima, you already know what his secret is.**

**clowngirl15: You're batshit crazy.**

**Meikyuu_Butterflyxo: You said it already. **

**clowngirl15: Said what?**

**Meikyuu_Butterfly: His secret. **

**clowngirl15: No I didn't! Whatever. Just keep your door unlocked; I'll be there in a minute.**

I logged out of instant messenger and crept my way through the living room, trying to avoid the camera.

My efforts went to no avail.

"Hey, turn the camera on the girl." Chiyo, the reporter, said to the cameraman.

SHIT! I'm not supposed to be on camera. My parents say that if I get filmed, some perverts might try to find me.

I highly doubt that will happen, but it's better safe than sorry; and I always obey my parents.

"Don't film me!" I yelled, covering my face.

"Sorry, but you're a cute young woman and you're rooming with an heir; the media's going to go crazy over this." She replied.

"She said she doesn't want to be filmed." Nagihiko said to Chiyo calmly, but in a way that nobody would dare try to defy him.

"Ok." Chiyo agreed immediately, obviously swayed by Nagi's seriousness and intimidating height.

The cameras were turned off me, so I walked and turned my head around and mouthed the words _Thanks, Nagi._

I can't believe he did something nice for me after I acted like such a bitch. Maybe I haven't been giving him enough credit.

I _did _like him at first…

This is a hard thing to think about. Do I hate him or like him?

I walked through the halls, trying to find out where the Junior dorms were. It became easier when I realized I was going in circles and finally noticed the sign I kept passing that said "Junior dorms" and pointed down a hall going right. My idiocy aside, I walked down that hall and found Room 204.

As directed, Utau left her door unlocked.

"Hey, Utau." I said, noticing she was alone. "Where are your roommates?"

"Oh. I only have one roommate." She replied.

"Lucky." I grumbled. "Who?"

"Not lucky. It's Kukai." She replied, grumbling, too.

"Oh. The friendly, sporty one." I said. "Better than having Nagi and Tadase as roommates."

"No. It's not. It's driving me crazy because… I kinda like Kukai." She admitted.

"I can… sorta relate to rooming with someone you like." I said, blushing.

She smiled. "I _knew_ you liked Nagihiko."

I scowled. "How do you know I'm not talking about Tadase?"

"Because Tadase's a dickweed." Utau replied.

"True." I admitted. "But, you know… I don't know if I _like_ like Nagi. He can be an asshat one minute and a sweetheart the next. I hate him and kinda-sorta like him _as a person _at the same time."

"I saw the way you looked at him before he started talking to Amu. You had big ol' puppy eyes and everything." She teased me.

I glared. "Shut up."

I heard the doorknob turn and Kukai entered the room.

"Back again so soon?" Utau asked.

"Yeah." He said, sighing. "I'm back because there was no ramen left."

"Don't use Nagihiko for his cooking skills." Utau scorned.

"I thought you were there to ask if he was going to see the fireworks." I said to Kukai.

"Well, that too… but, I was really just hungry and I heard that he made ramen."

"He made it for _me_, you know." I said. "Don't try to eat my food."

"You're a fatty; you don't need to eat." He teased.

"Shut the fuck up before I break your face." I hissed.

"I'm just kidding." Kukai said, grinning.

"With friends like you, who needs enemies?" I grumbled.

"We're friends? Sweet!" He said.

"Stop hitting on Rima." Utau said, with a hint of jealousy in her voice.

"Don't worry. Nagi would kill me if-" Kukai said, stopping when he realized he'd said too much.

My eyes grew wide and his expression was the equivalent of _Oh, shit. I'm dead._

"Does Nagihiko like me?" I asked, though I was more excited than I should have been.

"He's going to absolutely slaughter me." Kukai said frantically. "Don't tell him I told you. Act like nothing's different."

"Like Hell I'll tell him. Do you think I want to talk about something so embarrassing? Anyways, how'd you find out?" I asked.

"Tadase and I were teasing him about how he was defending you even though you had that fight. Then he sorta just… admitted it." He explained.

Well…" Utau said, looking at me. "Looks like you might win the bet after all."

**OK, so this chapter sucked. I know :P**

**It'll be better next chapter. I also realize that the only guardian characters I've had talk in this entire story are Kusukusu and Rhythm.**

**I plan on fixing that.**

**Also, thanks for the reviews. I appreciate them. I have 13 reviews as of now; I'd really like to get to 20 :] **

**Sorry for not updating for a really long time. I was without a computer for a long time and then I had to go to lots of doctors appointments and physical therapy because I dislocated my knee. **

**That's a run-on sentence. **

**Anyways , thanks for the support. Next chapter will be… interesting ^_^ I wonder what will happen when Rima meets Nagihiko's "twin".**


	4. Drag

I stood there, dazed. "Sooo... Nagi actually likes me? I'm hearing you correctly?"

Kukai started flipping out and looked like he was having a seizure. "He can't find out I told! I'll be dead!"

"Chill out. What's the worst he can do to you?" I asked.

"Horrible things, Rima." Kukai replied grimly. "Terrible, frightening things."

Something told me I wouldn't mind that. Kukai's a blabbermouth.

"Well, Rima, what are you going to do with this information?" Utau asked.

"Use it to my advantage, of course." I said as if it wasn't obvious.

To be honest, I wasn't sure that was right. Was I actually feeling..._bad..._ about using the violet-haired playboy?

Some part of me felt like he deserved it since he uses girls all the time. Not for sex, but just about everything else.

But another part of me thought _If he actually likes me, wouldn't using him be incredibly mean? Wouldn't he be really hurt?_

And yet another part of me wondered why I gave a damn.

"That's my girl." Utau replied.

"Hey, Utau." Kukai said.

"What?" Utau responded.

"You said something about a bet. What bet?" Kukai asked.

"As if I'd tell you, loose-jaws." She replied.

"Whatever, loose-legs." Kukai muttered in retaliation.

"Oh my god…did you just call me a slut?" Utau hissed.

"Well, I don't know. What you did with me last year _was _sluttish." He whispered.

"Bring that up ever again and you'll be beaten into next decade." She growled in fury.

"Will you two _SHUT UP?_ You're almost as bad as Fujisaki-kun and I." I intervened, pissed that they were being so childish.

All of a sudden a tall, slim, ever-smirking catboy with midnight-blue hair entered the room.

"Smallfry." Ikuto said, acknowledging me.

"Pussy." I replied, returning the acknowledgement.

"I heard you're trying to seduce one of the group members." He said.

"How'd you find out?" I asked, and then I looked at Utau who had _guilty_ written all over her face.

"A little songbird told me." Ikuto said.

I glared at Utau. "Really, Utau? _Really?_"

"Sorry." She replied, laughing nervously.

"Remember, chibi: seduction is _our_ job." Ikuto told me, referring to the group.

"Yeah, I heard about how you popped Amu's cherry and dumped her. I didn't realize you were such an ass." I scolded, venom in my words.

"If you go through with this, you're just as bad as us. You'd be the heartless playgirl ruining Nagihiko's virtue." He replied.

"Puh-lease. I'll bet he's done _everything _except actual sex. Don't act like he's innocent." I retaliated.

"You obviously don't know him well at all. He's barely even kissed a girl before." Ikuto said.

"Wait." Kukai interrupted. "Is that what the bet is about?"

"SHUT UP, KUKAI!" I yelled. "YES, THAT'S WHAT THE FUCKING BET IS ABOUT!"

In the chaos of the room, I could barely hear myself think and was surprised when I heard my cell phone ring.

I recognized the number and I felt like I had been kicked in the gut.

I flipped my cell phone open. "Hello, Mama."

"_Rima, what the hell is wrong with you? I was watching TV when an interview with some dancer came up and I saw you. Why are you rooming with a boy?" _My mother screamed.

"Mama, you're mistaken." I said, trying to think of a lie that would prevent her from coming up and taking me home. "I'm not rooming with a boy…that person you saw was a girl."

I mouthed _What?_ to myself, wondering what my diseased brain was doing to me.

"_Then what's with the male voice?" _She asked, not believing me in the least.

"Uh… hormone imbalance. She's really sensitive about it." I said, wondering what the hell I was saying.

"_I don't believe you but I'm not arguing right now. Friday night is open house for the parents, so I'll get to see this roommate for myself." _Mama told me; hanging up.

Shit. I'm so dead.

"Your mom called you? Why?" Utau asked.

"Remember how I told you Nagi was being interviewed?" I replied.

"It's weird how you're using his nickname when you supposedly don't like him…" She pointed out though it was irrelevant.

"_It matters_ _so much_." I hissed sarcastically. "Back to the subject: I was caught on camera during the interview and I'm trying to convince my mom that I'm not rooming with a boy."

"So you're pretending that he's a girl?" She asked.

"Apparently." I whispered, realizing it's ridiculous.

"I can't believe that he already told you-" Ikuto began to say, but Utau cut him off.

"You're perfect for each other already." Utau said.

"Shut the hell up. How?" I growled.

"Wait, so she doesn't know?" Ikuto asked Utau.

"No. And she even _guessed_ his secret in an IM with me earlier, but she doesn't know what she said that was right. Then she comes up with that lie to her mom."

"Oh, for the love of God… How many people _know_ this so-called 'secret'?" I huffed, growing more angry as the list grew.

How many is that now? Let's see- Utau, Kukai, Tadase, Ikuto, and probably Kairi.

By the way Utau's reacting, it should be obvious to me what his secret is.

I don't know what's scarier; that I'm too stupid to know what his secret is, or that I even care.

"Oh just wait till you find out." Kukai butted into the conversation, grinning.

I covered my ears. "I don't want to hear it, Kukai. You know what? I'm leaving. I'm getting frustrated."

I walked through the halls for a second time, trying to find my dorm.

When I finally found it, I opened the door and saw that the cameraman and reporter were gone.

I looked around and saw that Nagihiko was in the kitchen, washing our bowls from earlier.

"Hey." I said.

"Hey." He replied, not looking up.

"So… um…." I struggled to find the words to say. "I'm sorry about earlier. And thank you. The way you stood up for me was nice."

"I'm sorry, too. And don't worry about it." He said, still not looking up.

"Kukai told me something interesting." I said, trying my hardest to make it sound light.

"…Really?" He asked hesitantly, and suddenly he was still.

"Yeah. It's ridiculous actually." I said; beating around the bush. "It's funny, now that I think about it. You're gonna laugh; he said that… you liked me."

"That's right." Nagi replied quietly.

"Really?" I asked, and suddenly I couldn't feel my heartbeat.

"Yeah. What Kukai said _is_ ridiculous." He replied, and he returned to scrubbing the dishes.

"So you don't like me?" I asked, though I wasn't as relieved as I probably should have been. My voice gave away my disappointment.

I was, in a weird way, upset.

What the hell is happening to me?

"Are you disappointed?" He asked.

"Don't flatter yourself." I spat. "I'm just surprised, that's all."

"Now who's flattering themselves? Not every boy you meet will like you, Miss Conceited." He grumbled.

"I'm not conceited, you asshole! I'm surprised because I didn't think Kukai was a liar!" I yelled. "And you know what? I take back my apology. Go fuck yourself." "Come talk to me about conceited when you decide to cut that ridiculously long hair of yours! It's not attractive, you know. It makes you look like a hippie, you spoiled little rich boy!" I added.

I stormed out of there and went to the spare room, which was now officially being used as my room since I wanted to be separated from my male roommates.

I had no idea why I blew up like that over one stupid comment.

Why was I so offended? Why did I blow up like that?

I mean, I've been called _much_ worse things than conceited.

Is it because he said he doesn't like me?

He doesn't like me. Big deal. That can't be it.

Right?

I didn't have a right to be pissed.

Was it because of his jerky attitude that he had all of a sudden?

No. I'm a huge bitch so people acting mean shouldn't make me mad.

All I knew was that any amount of sympathy I may have had about using him for the bet was gone.

Revenge is going to be sweet. Even if he doesn't like me, if I get him drunk enough he won't say no.

Yes. That will kill him. Going against his morals in a drunken one-night stand with somebody he doesn't even like.

Perfect. Perfect. Completely, positively, absolutely perfect.

But when will I have the opportunity to get him drunk?

Aha. I have until Christmas break, right? I'll wait a few months.

Somebody's sure to have a Christmas party before break starts.

A party that, knowing how teenagers are nowadays, will most likely include alcohol.

My plan is fool-proof.

That idiot better beware.

**Nagihiko's POV**

Great. Now Rima's pissed at me.

I suppose I deserve it though. Y'know, what goes around comes around.

I lied to her about not liking her.

Why? Because I have a feeling she would've been even more pissed if she thought I _did_ like her.

Even though Rima thinks I don't like her now, Kukai's still a dead man walking.

Just wait till I get a hold of him.

Suddenly I heard my cell phone chime.

It was a text from Utau.

That was weird because she hardly ever even talks to me.

The text said:

_I know you're performing as Nadeshiko tonight. Amu's going to be super-excited and I want to make something clear: you're going to tell her. -Utau_

Was that a threat? Knowing Utau, it probably was.

I replied back to Utau.

_I can't. She'd have a heart attack. -Nagihiko_

She texted back.

_You were best friends with her for a year, and then you just leave without a warning to travel Europe. Then you came back early as your normal self and didn't even have the courtesy to let her know._

_You just completely ditched her and she's been waiting to see Nadeshiko for a long time. -Utau_

I replied back to her. _I wrote her letters. I didn't lose contact with her. But… this secret just can't be told. -Nagihiko_

Utau replied to me. _Rima's just about got your secret figured out. You better bet that she hates you so much she'll tell Amu the second she finds out. -Utau_

Damn it. That was right.

If Rima finds out my secret, she'll tell Amu right away.

I'm going to have to tell Rima my secret before she figures it out herself. At least that way I'll be able to explain myself before she jumps to the conclusion that I'm a pervert and tells Amu that.

But will she even listen to me? She hates me with such a passion that I highly doubted she would.

If I tell her my secret, will she go ahead and tell Amu anyway?

If I got her to promise not to tell, if she'd even agree to that, would she keep the promise?

If anything, she'd use this against me. Black mail.

Of all the people in the world that I had to tell the secret to, fate decided it had to be Rima Mashiro: the angel-faced devil.

I had to tell her… just, not tonight. Especially not when she's this pissed.

I was so spaced out that I almost forgot Tadase was with me.

"It's almost time for your gig. You better get changed." He said.

I grabbed my schoolbag, which had my kimono tucked tight at the bottom, and headed into the bathroom.

In an instant I changed out of my clothes and into the kimono. I tied my hair up in a ribbon and allowed my girl-self to take over.

"Temari." I whispered, calling her out of her egg.

"It's been a while, Nadeshiko." She said, smiling. Temari liked to call me by my girl name, and I didn't mind.

Now was the most difficult part: I had to leave the dorm and pray that Rima didn't decide to come out of her room before I was out.

I cracked open the door and saw nobody but Tadase. This was my cue to run.

I made it out of the dorm, and I was confident that things would be ok.

I had almost made it down the hall and out of the Sophomore dorms when I was tackled by what seemed like a flash of pink.

I was on the ground and when I looked up I saw Amu. It wasn't a tackle; it was a glomp.

"NADESHIKO!" She squealed. "OH MY GOD! It's been way too long!"

"Amu-chan." I said in my faux-feminine Nadeshiko voice, smiling weakly. "It's so nice to see you."

"Why didn't you tell me you were in Japan?" Amu asked.

"I just didn't have time." I answered, lying. "I'm so busy with rehearsals, especially so close to a show."

To be honest, I was trying to avoid her. The older I get, the harder it is to pass as a girl.

How many teenage girls do you know that are flat-chested and over six feet?

I suppose that after all this time, I should probably just tell her the truth.

Part of me _wanted_ to tell the truth.

But another part of me shut that part up with rationalization.

If I told Amu the truth, there'd be two friendships at stake; the friendship I had with her as Nadeshiko, and the friendship that's being formed with her as myself.

I refuse to lose a friend twice. If that makes sense.

"How long are you staying?" Amu asked.

"Just for tonight." I answered, only half lying that time. _Nadeshiko_ would be leaving, but my normal self would not.

She pouted. "Are you sure you can't stay till morning?"

"…Why?" I asked, blushing when I realized she was still on top of me.

"It's been five years. I would really like to catch up; you know, have a sleepover." She said.

"Isn't it a school night?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, yeah…" Amu admitted. "But it's not like anything important's going on tomorrow."

I sighed. "Where would it be?"

"I'll have to make sure my roommates are OK with it, but you could stay in my dorm." She replied.

"Fine." I said.

"It'll be fun!" She exclaimed optimistically. "Maybe I'll invite Yaya, too. And you can meet my friends Rima and Utau."

"Sounds great, Amu-chan." I said, defeated. "Now, um, do you mind getting off of me?"

Amu got off from on top of me and allowed me to stand up. "So do you have a show tonight?"

Brushing the dust off of my kimono, I replied, "Yes. There's a stage set up on the courtyard and my performance is right before the fireworks start."

"Perfect." She said. "Yaya, Rima, and Utau will be there. Maybe after your performance we can all watch the fireworks together."

"Sounds like a plan." I said with fake enthusiasm.

To be honest, I was dreading it.

It wasn't that I hadn't missed Yaya and Amu; they were my best friends. But Utau and Rima… they might be a problem.

Utau knew my secret, and she was _this close_ to telling. She was threatening me to tell Amu. .

And then there was Rima. Rima hates my Nagihiko-self so much that it wouldn't surprise me if she hated Nadeshiko, too. Or worse…

According to Utau, she almost has my secret figured out.

What if she recognizes me?

"You seem nervous." Amu noted. "What's wrong?"

"Uh… just nervous about meeting new people." I lied.

I really need to stop all this lying before it becomes a habit.

"I think you'll like Utau and Rima." She replied.

"What are they like?" I asked, hoping to stall for time.

"Utau's a popstar so I think you'll both be able to relate to being busy. You'll get along great with her." She replied.

"What about Rima?" I asked, once again stalling for time.

"Well, Rima's kinda hard to predict…" She said.

"How so?" I asked.

I was genuinely curious now; something about the way Amu said that was strange.

"Rima's gone through a lot. She was kidnapped when she was young and her parents are divorced…" Amu explained. "When she meets someone, she either can't stand them or she acts like they're her new best friend. She comes off as serious, but she's really just hiding how much she loves gags and comedy. She's convinced that those things are foolish and she's ashamed."

"Kidnapped?" I asked. "Why?"

"Rima's really, really beautiful. That's why. You have no idea what kind of sick people are out there." She replied grimly.

At that moment, I couldn't help but feel so terrible for Rima. It must be hard on her, to be so beautiful that she was abducted.

"That's awful." I whispered.

"Between you and I, that's the reason Rima's parents are divorced." Amu said. "Don't tell her I told you, though. She already blames herself."

"But how is that her fault?" I asked.

"It isn't _her_ fault, she just thinks it is. It's the kidnappers' fault." She clarified. "After it happened, Rima's parents did nothing but fight over who's fault it was. They started fighting over everything."

"She told you all this?" I asked.

Amu nodded. "Rima trusts me. Trusting someone is a big deal for her, so I don't take it lightly."

Somehow it didn't surprise me that she trusted Amu so much.

Though, maybe Rima should trust her a little less considering that she just told me all of this.

"It sounds like she has it rough." I whispered.

"Yeah, she does." She replied. "But… I think she has too much pride to feel sorry for herself."

"And she has a great friend like you." I said.

Amu smiled and stared off into space, as if thinking about something. "Rima-chan used to hate me, you know."

For some reason, I didn't doubt that. Not that Amu-chan's a bad person, but because Mashiro-san is so tsundere.

What surprised me most was that she smiled when saying that her best friend used to hate her.

"Really?" I queried. "So, how did you become friends with her?"

"Back in sixth grade, a few weeks after she transferred, we were sitting in class." She began. "Apparently someone brought a gag manga. A few boys were trying to imitate a move called _bala-balance._

Well, it turns out Rima's a bit-uh, enthusiastic?- about comedy. Apparently the boys weren't doing it right, and Rima ended up character-changing right in the middle of class. She became… possessed. She hopped up on top of her desk and ended up doing _bala-balance_. Everyone laughed at her. All her fanboys acted like they were mourning the death of their Queen, and the girls had even more reason to hate her and make fun of her. That moment was the first time I ever saw her cry. I felt so bad for her, even though she had been treating me horribly. She ran off and her fanboys started mumbling things like 'That's not our lovely Rima-sama!' And you know what? I turned right around and said 'That _is _her.' I found her outside the school crying as she sat against a wall. We talked for a while, and she told me how much she loved comedy. It's not that surprising now, but back then it was crazy talk. She was always so serious. I found out a lot about her. She told me about how her parents told her that comedy was stupid, and how she doesn't have any friends because all the girls hate her. I invited her to hang with Yaya and I, and we all became best friends; formed our own little clique. It was kinda at the perfect time, too. This was before we met Utau… and Yaya and I were missing you a whole lot, and we always have since you left, but Rima helped us cheer up."

I couldn't help but smile, listening to Amu's story. Leave it to Amu to stand up for someone one the outside, even someone who was mean.

I always felt guilty for leaving Amu and Yaya, but now I know that things turned out alright. Rima took the place I held in their lives, and I'm alright with that. A lonely girl made friends, and my two best friends were able to cheer up after I left. That makes me feel a lot better about the decision I'd made to travel Europe.

I always intended to come back, but I just couldn't. I was lost for a while after I traveled Europe, to the point where Temari had returned to her egg, and Rhythm hadn't hatched.

It was then that I decided to live as a boy and find myself. If I'd returned and had to live as Nadeshiko for a few more years, I would have suffocated.

Now I can bear pretending to be Nadeshiko because I know who I am. I can separate the two halves from the whole; but it's only because I didn't return.

Yes, it was hard. I missed Yaya and Amu, because they truly _were_ my best friends. In fact, I even used to have a little crush on Amu. But… I had to think of what was best for me.

Selfish, sure. But why shouldn't I be selfish every once in a while?

Time must've passed fast in that conversation because before I knew it I heard footsteps.

It didn't take but a second to know who it was.

"Who the hell is this person that looks like Fujisaki-kun in drag?" The nasally, soft high-pitched voice growled.

W-wait, did she say _in drag_?

I turned around and, in an even more feminine voice than before, I said, "Hi. My name's Nadeshiko Fujisaki."

Rima looked at me warily and said with a somewhat skeptical look on her face, "My name is Rima Mashiro."

"I've heard a lot about you." I said, forcing a smile on my face. Inside, I was panicking.

"Good things, I hope." She said.

"Of course." I replied.

"Guys, we have to hurry!" Another familiar voice yelled. The overexcited, childish voice mixed with the sound of footsteps could only belong to one person.

"Yaya-chan." I said, smiling.

All of a sudden the pigtailed girl squealed like a maniac. "NADE-CHAN!"

She hugged me and said, "It's been way too long. I missed you!"

"I missed you too, Yaya." I said lightly. "It's nice to see you again."

"You were away so long!" She whined.

"Sorry. Apparently the people in Europe really like me." I said.

…What, am I not allowed to stroke my ego every once in a while? Even if it's a lie?

When I looked around, I could see that Rima was glaring at me.

Oh no.

"Is something wrong?" I asked, trying to sound as kind as possible.

"Let's just say, your brother and I don't get along." She replied, muttering angrily. "And you have such a similar face."

"Oh, really? Why don't you get along?" I asked.

Yeah, I know I shouldn't have asked. It's just- I couldn't resist finding out why she hates me so much.

Aside from the obvious _I-called-her-conceited_ reason.

"He's a playboy, and I can't stand playboys." Rima hissed.

That's what Rima _says_, but she hated me before she even knew I was a playboy.

"That's not true. You started hating him before you knew he was a playboy." Yaya butted in. "You had googly eyes when you saw Nagi, but you looked all mad after he started talking to Amu-chi."

Googly eyes? No way.

I looked at Rima and I could see that she was blushing and she wouldn't make eye-contact with anyone. She looked embarrassed and even a little mad.

"Details, details." She whispered.

**Rima's POV**

_Way to embarrass me, Yaya._ I thought.

For some reason, the four of us were assembled in a hallway; Yaya, Amu, Nadeshiko and I.

This Nadeshiko girl… for some reason, she makes me wary.

Something's not right about her. Something's off.

I looked at her and I could tell that she was just as tall as her brother. About six feet or more.

She also had long, violet hair which was tied into a ponytail by a ribbon.

There was something about her voice, too. It was clearly feminine, no doubt about that, but it was a forced sound.

Her face, her eyes, and her smile- they were too similar to her jerk of a twin.

Something else caught my attention, too.

If Nagihiko and Nadeshiko were twins, they were clearly passing as identical twins rather than fraternal.

But identical twins can't be different genders, can they?

I'll have to search it up later.

Despite my caution, Nadeshiko didn't seem like that bad of a person. Or, at least, she didn't do anything to make me mad yet.

"Hey, Nadeshiko." I said.

She looked at me with a sort of surprised look on her face. "Yes?"

"Sorry if I came off as rude. It's a pleasure to meet you." I said.

Yuck. Politeness is definitely an acquired taste.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, too, Mashiro-san." She replied, smiling.

"Rima." I said. "Just call me Rima."

Her voice became confused and her expression matched. "Well, OK."

Nadeshiko seems so normal, so why am I so weirded out?

Besides being so statuesque, she's just like any other girl.

Nothing odd about her. Nothing.

As I was thinking about all this, it occurred to me: Why am I _trying_ to find something wrong with her?

It's not like… Amu will become best friends with her again, right?

"Rima-tan, what's the matter?" Yaya asked.

I could only reply with an involuntary "_Huh?"_

"You went into outer space." She said.

"Oh. Sorry, Yaya." I replied. "I was just… thinking."

"About what?" Amu queried.

"Nothing." I answered.

"But you just said-" Amu pressed on, but I stopped her.

"_Nothing_." I repeated, this time using the word like an expletive.

She sighed. "Whatever. Don't tell me. It's almost time for Nadeshiko to perform, anyways."

Oh, yeah. I almost forgot that was why Nadeshiko was here.

And apparently so did she.

"SHOOT!" Nadeshiko yelled.

All of a sudden, she took off running. A dancer like her almost forgetting her gig? How unprofessional.

"Did she seriously forget about her performance?" I asked.

"It's my fault." Amu replied. "She was on her way to the stage, but I stopped her."

"Still unprofessional." I mumbled.

"Be nice." Amu said sharply. "You know, when I told her you were my best friend _she _didn't get jealous of _you._"

Those words struck me like an arrow.

"I'm not jealous." I protested.

"Rima-" She said a little softer.

"I don't want you to leave me alone." I whispered.

That was my greatest fear. That Amu would stop being my best friend.

If she stopped, then Yaya and Utau would stop being my friends, too.

I'd be alone.

I know from years of experience that loneliness is the most horrific feeling in the world. I never want that to happen to me again.

"What do you mean 'leave you alone'?" She asked.

"I mean that you're going to become Nadeshiko's best friend and forget all about me." I sniffed as my eyes started to water.

"Why are you so scared of that? It won't happen." She queried.

"Amu-chi wouldn't do that to you." Yaya added.

"Because I'll never be able to make another friend. If you left, Yaya and Utau would leave, too." I replied to Amu.

"I was best friends with Nadeshiko five years ago, and I still care a lot about her… but now _you're_ my best friend. Along with Utau and Yaya."

How did this turn of events come to be?

It's a waste of time to be sad. Why waste precious time dwelling on such a painful emotion?

I'll just have to trust that Amu won't ignore me. I'll have to trust that I've been a good enough friend to her.

I begrudgingly trudged through the hallway, Amu and Yaya following behind me. After a series of turns in what seemed like a maze, we made it outside.

The courtyard.

The courtyard was located in the back of the school, and was an intricate arrangement of tiles and bricks paired with greenery.

In the night sky it looked like palace-grounds. Beautiful. Stunning. Incomparable.

The beauty of this quaint, gothic-style courtyard was soon overtaken by another beautiful thing.

The darkness was overcome by lights from the stage that had, before, been unnoticeable. All of a sudden, all eyes were on the beautiful dancer who graced the stage with her presence.

It was Nadeshiko, and she took me by surprise. I'd never noticed just _how_ beautiful she was.

If I wasn't jealous of her and Amu's friendship anymore, I was certainly jealous of her looks.

The music began and it seemed to caress my ears. Nadeshiko began to dance, and she was like air. Each fluid movement made her seem like a leaf moving in a breeze. Every graceful step was in perfect harmony with the rhythm. She wasn't dancing to the music; she was dancing _with_ the music. I looked up and saw her smile, and I could tell that this is what she loved. What she was born to do. Nadeshiko to her stage is like a painter to his canvas.

I looked at her in awe, and felt completely guilty. How could I have been spiteful about her, if even for a minute?

In what seemed like seconds, the song was over; ending her performance.

Everybody in the audience cheered and Nadeshiko effortlessly glided off the stage.

She made her way towards Amu, Yaya, and I, asking, "What did you think?"

"That was awesome, Nade-chan!" Yaya exclaimed.

"Thanks." Nadeshiko replied, smiling.

"I forgot how great you were." Amu added.

"You were amazing." I said flatly, stating it as a fact.

"Thank you, Rima-chan." She replied cautiously.

Cautiously?

Great. I've already scared away a potential friend.

"Don't worry. I don't bite." I said lightly, smiling.

From the crowd, I could suddenly see a group of familiar faces.

Utau walked next to Kukai in our direction. Behind them were Tadase, Ikuto, and Kairi.

No Nagihiko in sight.

I suppose that isn't a big deal considering that he said he wasn't coming…

But what kind of a brother is he to miss his twin sister's performance? Nonetheless, his twin sister that's apparently been in Europe for the past five years.

"Sorry I missed the performance." Utau said to Nadeshiko as she grew nearer.

"No need to apologize." Nadeshiko replied.

"Sorry, dude-_ette._" Kukai said, adding the _ette_ quickly. Uh, doesn't he know that girls can be called _dude_ nowadays?

"Fujisaki-san, accept my apology. I consider you as my sister, since I consider Nagihiko as my brother." Tadase said.

_Wow. _I thought. _That was out of character for Tadase. _**(A/N: It's sorta in character, but OOC for this story and its confusing -_-)**

"_Gomen._" Kairi said mechanically.

"And I really don't care." Ikuto said in rude contrast.

"You don't care? You know, I hear that happens to cats after they're neutered." Nadeshiko said to Ikuto with fake compassion.

But how did Nadeshiko know about Ikuto having a cat character?

My best guess was that maybe Nagihiko told her in a letter or in a phone call of some sort.

"What'd you say to me-" Ikuto began to yell.

Suddenly an explosion rang through the air, interrupting what would have been a fight.

Everyone stared at the sky, knowing that the fireworks were beginning.

We all took our seats on the brick-tile ground and nobody dared to take their eyes off the night sky.

I sat next to Utau as Amu and Yaya sat next to Nadeshiko.

The playboy grouped seemed to just form a circle amongst themselves.

This was my first time seeing fireworks. The colors seemed to explode in the sky, and make a lot of noise.

But that was it.

When I was younger, I always hoped that one day my parents would take me to see fireworks. I had all sorts of expectations, and I thought that it would be magical. I'm not a little kid anymore; I'm a teenager now. That silly dream of seeing them with my parents disappeared, but I still hoped that the day I saw fireworks would still be magical. I thought that maybe it was some sort of pixie dust that would fix my problems, or set my heart alight with its wonder. I should've known I'd be disappointed.

If anything, it was glorified gunpowder.

**(A/N: Z0MG! MAGICAL TIME SKIP :D)**

An hour or two passed and the pyrotechnics ended.

"Rima, Yaya, Utau." Amu said. "Nadeshiko's sleeping over in my dorm tonight. Wanna stay over, too?"

A slumber party, huh? I wasn't much of the slumber party type.

I agreed, though, knowing that I was so exhausted I'd fall asleep quickly.

Besides, maybe I'd learn a little more about Nadeshiko. Not to mention Amu's roommates.

_Sigh_.

This is how teenage girls make friends, right? They go to slumber parties.

They braid hair, give facials, have pillow fights, and talk about boys.

How juvenile…

But, who am I to turn down an opportunity for new friends?

**OMG! I AM SO FREAKING LATE WITH THIS UPDATE D: **

**My computer has been such a failure and that's the cause of the delay.**

**I needed a new charger, and it took me forever to get it. Then after I finally got it, my internet went down and I needed a new router -_-**

**So, now I have a new charger and router and I hope I don't have any more problems. **

**If I do, I'm going to shoot myself in the foot -_-"**

**Anyways, thanks SO much for the reviews. I really appreciate them :]**

**Haha someone asked me not to make this a lemon. Don't worry, I am NOT making it a lemon. **

**I, personally, am a virgin so I have no idea where I'd even begin to write like that. **

**If it happens, I'll write it Stephenie Meyer style, just implying the sex and skipping to the next day.**

**Of course, that's assuming Rima is even going to win the bet. That's not a guarantee, now is it? ;)**

**This chapter's really messy and suckish because I didn't exactly know how I was going to write this.**

**I hope you guys don't mind that this chapter's kinda rough and it's a lot less funny than the other chapters.**

**Trust me, there'll be more humor. **

**Also, I have a question:**

**Amu's roommates are Lulu DeMorcerf and Yua Sakurai….**

**Do you think I should write them ridiculously out-of-character, or keep them in character?**

**Anyways, please review. **


	5. Trust

**Rima's POV**

I stood up and almost automatically took my place at the right-hand side of Amu as she stood, too. Utau, Yaya, and Nadeshiko all stood up as well, not even thinking. It was little things like this that I seemed to notice. It was sort of like a wolf-pack mindset. Amu was the Alpha, leading us, and everyone else seemed to mimick her actions. Not full-out copying, but mirroring things like standing and sitting. I suppose it wasn't that big a deal. After all, being at the right hand of the Alpha means that I'm the Beta… Yes, these are the sorts of things that pop into my mind.

My ADHD-esque thoughts aside, I felt anxious. I was going to stay the night in Amu's dorm with three people I didn't know well; Nadeshiko, Lulu, and Yua. Of course Yaya and Utau would be there, too, along with Amu of course, but knowing that didn't help much. I'm completely socially-impaired. I must've missed the part about "social development" when I was in preschool. It's much easier to be mean and distance myself from people, but I don't want to do that anymore. Having only three people in the world that I could relate to and truly call my friends simply wasn't enough. That's why tonight has to go perfectly. If it goes the way I wanted to, who knows? I could end up with three _more_ actual friends.

As Amu began to walk in the direction of the dorms, the wolf-pack mindset set in once again. We were all walking instinctively synchronized, and it seemed natural. Now that I think about it, this was a good feeling. Despite being comparable to how wolves, mysterious animals they are, this unison was one of the most comforting things. It was a feeling of knowing where my place was; where I ranked. A feeling of belonging to a group.

"So, Rima, did you like the fireworks?" Amu asked, not losing her pace. "That was your first time seeing them, right?"

"Rima-chan, you'd never seen fireworks before?" Nadeshiko queried.

"Uh-huh. Tonight was my first time seeing them in person." I replied to both of them. "To be honest, though, it was disappointing."

Ok, that's an understatement. It was more like '_crush-all-of-my-childhood-dreams_' devastating. I just have to accept the fact that it's just colorful explosives. No better than a bomb, yet nobody stares in awe at those. I guess I thought it'd be magical, but I'm far too old for that.

This kind of thinking is toxic. It's so hard not to think this way, but being too negative could end up hurting Kusukusu. Does anybody have any idea how hard it is to be a teenager that's not allowed to be angsty? Asking a teenager not to be angsty is like asking a lion to be a vegetarian; it goes against nature.

_Woe is me, woe is me. _I thought in the back of my head, rolling my eyes. A smile perked on my lips as I realized just how ridiculous it was to be upset over silly fireworks. If anything, my thinking wasn't hurting Kusukusu, I was; because I kept her in her egg most of the time, like Yaya, Amu, and Utau do with their guardian characters. It's to prevent anything embarrassing from happening because of her, but I suppose it wasn't necessarily fair.

I reached into the pocket of my skirt and grabbed Kusukusu's egg.

"Come out." I whispered.

In less than a second, Kusukusu was out of her egg.

"RIMA!" She exclaimed, giggling "_Kushukushikushu"._

The others hadn't been paying attention before, but Kusukusu's loud mouth attracted their attention.

"Kusukusu, why are you so excited?" Amu asked her.

"Because Rima got mad at me, but now she let me out of my egg!" Kusukusu replied.

"Why was Rima-tan mad?" Yaya asked.

"Because Kusukusu was falling for Fujisaki-kun's chara." I answered, disgusted.

"Nagi has a chara?" Amu asked.

"Yup. It's a little playboy just like him. Like bearer, like chara." I grumbled.

"So…" Utau asked. "Kusukusu has a crush on Nagi's chara?"

"Apparently." I responded.

"Well…" She replied. "Like you said: like bearer, like chara. Now, what were you saying about Nagihiko earlier-"

I snapped and grabbed Utau by one of her ponytails, tugging as hard as I could. "Let's play a little game of 'shut-the-hell-up'."

"OW!" Utau yelled. "I was only kidding!"

"Don't say grossly untrue things." I said in a monotone, tightening my grip.

"OOOWWWWWWW!" Utau screamed.

"Do you understand?" I asked.

"Yes! Now release my hair! It's not insured yet!" She screamed again.

I let go of the hair and glared at her. "Your hair's not insured _yet_? You seriously are going to insure your hair?"

She nodded. "It's my best asset."

I shook my head in disapproval. "You see, this is why my mom didn't want me hanging out with a popstar; they're all nutcases."

All of a sudden, Utau and I noticed that Amu, Yaya, and Nadeshiko were being quiet.

"Is something wrong?" I asked.

"Rima, don't be scared…" Amu whispered. "But there's some guys following us. Don't panic, just keep walking."

After hearing those words, my heart started pounding. I didn't dare look back. I knew that I should've kept walking, but somehow my legs just wouldn't work. My fear was paralyzing me. Why is it that the human body always seems to make things worse for itself? I could hear footsteps and began to hyperventilate. _Not again._ I thought. _Come on, move!_ _Your friends are ahead of you, just move!_

"Rima, what the hell are you doing? Move!" Amu yelled, freaking out.

"If you're joking around, it's not funny this time, Rima-tan." Yaya cried.

I tried my best to murmur even an ounce of a reply, but it came out as nothing but a gasp.

"She's too scared to move." Nadeshiko said.

By the time they came back to help me walk towards the dorms, my arm was grabbed.

My head automatically swung back and I saw two teenage boys. They looked older, though; most likely Seniors.

"Hey, girly, what's a pretty thing like you doing out here in the dark?" The first boy, the one grabbing my arm, asked. "Bad things could happen to you, you know."

"L-let me go." I choked. I couldn't find it in me to try to run. My legs, my arms; they were both paralyzed. Any means of defense or escape had been taken from me.

"Oh, a talking doll." The other boy said sinisterly.

"Let's see if she's anatomically correct." The first boy replied, with a mischievous smirk. Suddenly, he ripped my shirt and put his hand inside my bra.

I tried to hold back my tears, but before I knew it I was bawling.

_Oh my God. No. No. Please no._ I thought.

Then, the second boy started to unzip my skirt. Within seconds, my skirt was down to my ankles and I was too scared to even be embarrassed.

At that point, the only thing that was clear to me was that I was being touched in places that shouldn't be. I began to cry even harder.

"Rima!" Kusukusu cried out.

"My heart: UNLOCK!" Amu said. "Character Transformation: Amulet Heart!"

"My heart: UNLOCK!" Utau followed. "Character Tranformation: Lunatic Charm!"

"My heart: UNLOCK!" Yaya finished. "Character Transformation: Dear Baby!"

At that point, the boys had taken their hands off me. They were too mesmerized by the character transformations.

"Nadeshiko, character transform." Amu yelled.

"Why would I character transform?" Nadeshiko asked. "When my character-change would be so much more useful."

I hadn't even known that Nadeshiko had a guardian character, nonetheless that she could character transform if she wanted to. All of a sudden, I heard an angry yell and I saw Nadeshiko running towards the boys with a naginata. The boys let go of me and I fell to the ground like dead weight, tears still running down my face. Why am I so stupid? Why couldn't I do anything? I was letting somebody who barely even knew me fight my battles. I shouldn't have to ask that of her; I should be able to fight. I should be able to defend myself. I should have ran. Somehow I should've forced myself to stop being such a coward. Yet, the only thing I did was pull up my skirt and hold together the fabric of my ripped shirt.

_Now I can move? _I thought. _I suck. I completely, entirely suck. _

Nadeshiko ran like a samurai, but moved like a dancer. Wherever the boys went, she was three steps ahead of them at all times. She swung her naginata and it was almost too fast to see. _Swish. Swish. Swish. _Suddenly, I heard a scream. I saw one the boys had been cut by the naginata; leaving a three-inch deep gash running down the length of his arm. He and the other boy tried to run, but they were blocked.

"_Go, Go, Little Duckies!" _Yaya yelled, and a swarm of rubber-duckies pecked at the boys. Then, Utau pushed them on the ground using _Nightmare Lorelei_ and Amu hit them with her Heart Rod using _Spiral Heart._

"Leave the school. Now. Never come back." Nadeshiko said in an almost-psychopathic way. She held the naginata against both of their chests as they got up.

The two boys fled the school, just as they had been ordered to. After everything was over, all attention was on us. A crowd of about one-thousand people came up and asked if I was alright and why Amu, Utau, and Yaya were dressed so bizarrely; and where Nadeshiko got ahold of a naginata. To be honest, I wanted to know the answer to that, too. But I was too shaken to think rationally for a while. It wasn't for another five minutes that I could stand and speak.

"Mashiro-san, are you alright?" The last girl in the crowd asked.

"I'm fine." I said, not even sure if I was telling the truth.

"Really cool cosplay." A few people began saying to Amu, Yaya, and Utau.

Apparently that was their story; they were _really_ good cosplayers who happened to help save their friend while they were in costume. How clever.

"Weren't you scared that one of those boys would fight back?" A young boy, assumed to be a part of the elementary portion of the school, asked Nadeshiko.

I looked over at Nadeshiko and couldn't help but wonder _Yeah… wasn't she afraid? She wasn't even character-transformed, only character-changed. One of the boys could've easily fought back._

She thought for a moment, "Well… in a situation like this, it's better to think of the person you're trying to protect instead of yourself. So, no, I wasn't scared. I didn't even think of that."

How… nice. I really couldn't think of another word for it. She was so unselfish and put herself at risk for me, who she barely knows. I feel like such a horrible person. She shouldn't have had to do that, it's all my fault.

"Smile, Rima." Kusukusu said, doing her best to grin. Inside, I knew she was sad, too.

I curved up the sides of my lips and did, at least, a half-smile. That was all I could manage at the moment. It wasn't longer than a second afterwards that I was frowning again. Everything felt so… bleak. I'd been taken advantage of, but I felt like I deserved it for not even bothering to defend myself. But, I also felt like much worse could've happened. I wasn't raped or anything; just groped. How horrible is it when the best thing a person can say about a situation is _Oh, well at least I wasn't raped_? Pathetic. Just pathetic. Not only was my situation pathetic, but _I _was pathetic. I'm nothing but a pitiful little girl on the ground, doing absolutely nothing. I let my best friends and a stranger put themselves at risk.

Suddenly, Nadeshiko turned to me.

"Get up, Rima-chan." She said, smiling sympathetically as she reached out her hand. "Everything's OK now."

I grabbed her hand and she helped me up.

"Thank you, Nadeshiko." I whispered. "I can't thank you enough."

"Don't thank me." She said.

"But I want to." I replied.

"If you want to thank me, just promise that you'll never let this happen to you again, OK?" She responded.

I nodded. "OK."

After a little while, I said, "You know, I'd probably kiss you for saving me if you were a boy." I was joking, of course… well, half-joking.

I saw Nadeshiko's face turn bright red. She forced herself to laugh. "Haha. That's funny, Rima-chan! Don't say such weird things."

"Uh… are you OK?" I asked.

"Peachy." She replied. "Are _you_ OK?"

To be honest, I wasn't sure. I tried my best to make humor of the situation, but then I realized that this wasn't something I could make humor. In this kind of situation, you can only distract yourself to keep from hurting. Knowing this, I looked around and saw something that should've been obvious to me before. Hiding behind Nadeshiko's extremely long hair was a guardian character. It looked exactly like Rhythm, except it had a light purplish-pink shade of hair instead of purplish blue-gray. It also wore its hair up in a ribbon, and wore a pink kimono rather than baggy clothes.

"Your guardian character…" I muttered.

Could this be the character from the pink egg that I saw in Nagihiko's bag? No way, right? That would mean… No. N-no way. That's not possible.

"Oh, um…" Nadeshiko said, getting nervous. "T-this is Temari."

The elegant little guardian character came out from behind Nadeshiko's hair. "Pleased to meet you."

All of a sudden, Kusukusu went charging towards Temari. "You look like Rhythm. You have the same energy, too."

"Back in your egg. You don't speak of the enemy's chara." I whispered. Kusukusu obeyed.

I looked back at Nadeshiko as she slowly began to sink. All signs pointed to- I'm not even going to say it, it's so ridiculous. Surely it can't be. No way.

I'll just have to keep a close eye on Nadeshiko.

**Nagihiko's POV**

The look that was in Rima's eyes at the moment… oh no. Please tell me that she didn't figure it out. Especially since Amu forced me into a sleepover that Rima would be at. GAH! I'm trying to seem like I'm calm, but I'm freaking out. I don't know what I'll do if my secret gets out. If Rima finds out on her own, she'll tell Amu who'll freak out and tell everyone. If I tell Rima _myself_, maybe I can convince her to keep it a secret. But, no, it can't be tonight; she'll think I'm some disgusting pervert trying to weasel his way into a girls-only slumber party. For the love God, what the hell am I even supposed to do at one of those things?

_Shut up_. I thought, scolding myself. _There are much worse problems at hand._

I can only imagine how Rima feels right now, after what happened. When I saw her crying, it set me off and I swore that I was going to slice the heads off of those pathetic bastards that touched her. I literally considered killing them. It's a scary thing, thinking about taking someone's life. It's especially scary when you consider taking someone's life to protect another. I only met Rima today and I was willing to kill to protect her? It sounds creepy to say. I didn't even know I liked her that much. I mean, to be quite honest, there are _much_ nicer girls that I could like. Why her?

Of course, it could've just been my character-change talking. I've been known to become completely psychotic and bloodthirsty when I character-change with Temari. Yeah, that's it. That's why I was willing to kill. It was my character-change talking.

I couldn't help wondering what she was thinking now. Surely she was doing a _lot_ of thinking, considering the circumstances. If only she was easy to read. Most people are like an open book; obvious, and very easy to read. Trying to read her is like reading a book written in an alien language. Nothing about her is ordinary. Nothing. So how can anybody understand her? Maybe I'm people-illiterate or something, but if I am I've never had this problem before. I've seen sides of her tonight that are completely different; I've seen her cry, I've seen her show vulnerability, and I've seen her just casually hanging out with friends. Of course, maybe I would've gotten to see those sides, anyways, in time. I've only known her since this morning, after all. Maybe those sides aren't completely different; maybe the side she shows the real me is her different side. Maybe my Nadeshiko side could come in handy… She trusts Nadeshiko. And I want to know her and understand her; becoming friends with her as Nadeshiko might be my chance. If only I knew what she was thinking.

Great. I'm a creeper. That's nice to know. But, despite whatever is going on with the creeper that is me, what's going on with Rima is more important. _She_ is the one who has a right to be upset or worried about things right now.

As Rima was just about to follow Amu, Utau, and Yaya back to the dorms, the principal came.

"Miss Mashiro." He said.

"Yes?" Rima asked.

"Your parents have been contacted and they decided to come here and check on you. They should be here in an hour or so." He replied. "On behalf of the school, I'm terribly sorry about what happened. We'll make sure it never happens to anyone ever again."

**Rima's POV**

My. Parents. Are. Coming. Here? Well, I can wave goodbye to my school year. No way they'll let me stay after what just happened. They're so overprotective that they'll probably make me leave as soon as they get here. I can imagine them fighting over who gets to drive me home and somehow managing to blame each other for the actions of the stupid boys.

"Oh… OK." I said to the principal, who then walked away.

"Something wrong?" Amu asked.

"Yeah, my parents are gonna make me leave. I just know it." I replied bitterly.

"Isn't that a good thing? _According to you,_ you don't like Nagi. You should be happy to leave and avoid him." Utau said.

"I really don't care about that. What I care about is that I'd have to spend a year without my friends." I said.

"You could text us and call us everyday." Yaya told me, trying to cheer me up, but failing.

"I'm going to have to." I sighed.

"Hope for the best." Nadeshiko said quietly. "Expecting the worst without knowing for sure will just jinx it."

"You think so?" I asked. It seemed doubtful.

"Well, sure." She replied, more confident. "I mean, it certainly can't hurt to be positive. So why not try it?"

I never thought of it that way. There are people who swear that having a positive attitude brings them luck. I don't necessarily believe in luck, but I believe in the natural ability to influence situations. Maybe the secret to a favorable outcome is a positive attitude.

"Maybe you're right." I said.

"I know I'm right." Nadeshiko replied. "Good things come from wishful thinking."

"Or, more accurately, you hope you're right." I whispered. "You never know if that really changed the outcome or not."

"I guess so… but, that's the point, right?" She said.

"OK, are we gonna stand out here in the dark, freezing our arses off, or are we gonna go to Amu's dorm?" Utau asked, wrapping her arms around herself.

"To Amu-chi's dorm!" Yaya exclaimed.

I saw Amu laugh as she walked ahead, all of us following. I was still at her right, of course, since I'm the Beta. Maybe a little sleepover will be just what I need to forget about what happened. That is, until my parents show up and ruin the peace.

"_I'm fine. Really." _I imagined telling them. "_There's nothing to worry about. Please let me stay." _

Of course they'd never believe me. They'd never let me stay. Especially since my mom didn't believe my lie, and knows that I'm rooming with a boy. Just wait until she finds out I'm rooming with _two._ To be honest, it'd be a relief to get out of this school; to find a way out of the bet. But, that'd mean I'd be away from my friends. I can't let that happen, I just can't. I would literally go insane. No friends would mean that all I'd have left was my constantly nagging, bitchy mother complaining about everything. Even after my parents got divorced, all they did was complain about each other. It was the most annoying thing ever. If it's true that people learn by example, then I'm screwed when it comes to relationships. Becoming an old, worn-out cat lady suddenly seems more appealing.

I reluctantly continued to follow, and we reached Amu's dorm.

_Room 299_. I noted.

I was barely through the door when her roommates ambushed me.

"Oh my God! You're Rima! You're the girl everyone's talking about." A young red-head with perfect features said. Must be Yua.

"Bad news sure travels fast." I muttered, annoyed.

"So, were you, like, freaked out?" Another girl, a blue-eyed blonde that I recognized as Lulu, asked.

_Don't hit her. Don't hit her. _I thought. _Even though that's the most stupid, insensitive question I've ever been asked._

"Yes, I was freaked out." I said curtly.

"Uh, guys, I don't really think it's something we should keep talking about if Rima doesn't want to." Amu said.

_Thanks. _I mouthed to Amu.

"Does anybody have some clothes I could change into?" I asked, remembering that I still had to hold together my ripped shirt.

"I do." Yua said, reaching into her bag. "Here."

She handed me a white long-sleeved nightgown with a doily-style lace accent at the hem.

"Thank you." I said as I walked into the bathroom to change.

After locking the door, I looked at myself in the mirror to get a good look at the damage.

My shirt was ripped even worse than I thought. My blouse was hardly recognizable as an item of clothing. It looked like I threw on rags.

I examined my arm and saw a maroon-colored handmark left around my wrist. I lifted my blouse and saw that there were other marks like it all over my body, even where I hadn't realized the boys had touched. On my breasts, stomach, sides, arms, thighs, legs and… well, _everywhere _else. Including the places that shouldn't ever be touched, nonetheless have hand prints.

I looked away. Seeing the marks gave me less hope that my parents would let me stay.

I stripped out of my clothes and changed into the nightgown that Yua let me borrow; cringing when I saw that it was about nine inches too long. Being short can be really damn inconvenient sometimes.

_It'll do._ I thought. _It was generous of her to let me wear it. Who cares if it's a little long? _

I walked out and immediately heard squeals of "Rima, you're so cute! You look just like a doll!"

"Not exactly what I want to hear at the moment." I whispered.

Amu pouted. "I'm sorry. Are you alright? You must be shaken after what those idiots did."

"I'll be alright." I said, trying to lessen the tension. "I mean, it's not like I'm not used to being sexually harassed. This is just the most physical it's ever been."

"You sure?" She asked.

"Don't worry. I can handle anything." I bluffed. To tell the truth… I was scared. Who's to say that won't happen again? Or maybe something even worse?

I didn't like to show my fear, because I'm too proud to let people know that I'm vulnerable. I refuse to be seen as some defenseless little girl, even though I am.

"You know…" Amu whispered. "I think that's your problem. You act like you can do everything alone; like you don't need anyone's help."

"I _don't_ need anyone's help. I can take care of myself." I protested.

"Really? It didn't seem like you could take care of yourself tonight when you were paralyzed with fear." She argued.

I didn't know how to respond. How do you retaliate against something so true?

"It's alright to swallow your pride now and again." She said in a softer tone, smiling.

"That'd make me weak." I hissed. "I'm not weak."

"I used to think the same way." Utau cut in with resentment in her voice. "I used to think that letting others see my vulnerability made me a weak person. I thought that knocking away the people in my path and the ability to keep a brave face made me strong; radiant. It doesn't. Everybody is vulnerable. Everybody is weak. Nobody is truly happy, or powerful, or even confident in the few things they can do. What makes a person strong is accepting that they have limits, that they're weak. Embracing it. Let people see you for the vulnerable, scared little girl you are, Rima. The truly brave are the ones that aren't afraid of showing their weakness. They know that by showing their weaknesses, their strengths are shown as well."

"What are you trying to say?" I asked.

"I mean that showing your weaknesses makes you strong." She replied.

"Why didn't you just say that then?" I whispered stubbornly.

In that moment, the door opened so fast that I could've sworn I saw the curtains across the room move.

"Rima!" My mother cried.

"Mama…" I said in awe.

My father stormed in behind her and immediately started yelling.

"How could you let her go to this school? It's your fault this happened!" He yelled at my mother.

"Do you think I would've let her come if I thought this would happen?" She screamed. "I'm not an idiot. I have more common sense than that!"

"Then use it for once!"

"This isn't about whatever problems you have with me, asshole! This is about our daughter!"

"Our daughter that you negligently put in danger!"

All my friends were staring, obviously making judgments. How could my parents fight like this in front of them?

I was so humiliated.

"Shut up!" I yelled at both of them. "I'm alright, so shut up!"

"Don't speak to us that way." My mom scolded. "I'm going to take you home."

"No you're not." My dad protested. "_I _am. You're too incompetent to protect her."

"How dare you!" Mama hissed.

"Please…" I whispered, though it was pointless.

My mama looked at my legs and saw all the marks. She rolled up the sleeves of the nightgown to see even more.

"My God, you have marks all over you." She uttered with disgust. "How can you say you're alright?"

"Because nothing happened. Some idiots just got a little touchy, that's all." I replied, playing it down.

When I said that, I saw my mother's eyes water. That's the closest to crying that I've ever seen from her.

"Sweetheart, do you have any idea how scared I was when I got the call about this? I love you so much, and I'm so sorry. It was a mistake sending you here."

"Don't blame the school, or yourself. I should've ran." I whispered. "_Please,_ mama, don't make me leave. I'd go insane without my friends."

"Honey, when did you become so..." My father began to say.

"Codependent?" I finished.

Before he could reply, a man and a woman that I didn't know burst through the door.

The woman was of average height and had shoulder-length brown hair. She was wearing a yukata.

The man was much taller, at least six and a half feet, and had long lavender-bluish hair. He looked just like Nagihiko… oh, yeah, and Nadeshiko, too, of course.

Could they be Nagihiko and Nadeshiko's parents?

"Nadeshiko, explain yourself." The man said.

"Father, what are you doing here?" Nadeshiko asked.

"Your father and I came to see your performance. Why the hell did you get in a fight? We don't need violence soiling the Fujisaki name." The woman replied.

I stepped forward. "It's all my fault, Mr. and Mrs. Fujisaki. Don't be mad at Nadeshiko. She was just trying to protect me."

"Pardon me for asking, dear, but who are you and what exactly happened?" Mrs. Fujisaki asked in a calm voice.

"My name's Rima. I'm your son's roommate, and I'm Amu's friend. You probably remember her." I said. "What happened was… I was followed by some guys and they… Th-they…"

I couldn't finish that sentence without bursting in tears, so I moved on.

"So Nadeshiko stopped them, along with my other friends." I said quickly.

"I understand." The man, Mr. Fujisaki, said thoughtfully.

"So, Rima, you _were_ lying to me about not rooming with a boy." My mother said.

"Is that important right now?" I asked.

"I suppose I can ground you for life later." She muttered, sighing.

"Nadeshiko," Mrs. Fujisaki said, "I think it's time to go."

"That's a _great_ idea." Nadeshiko said, rushing out of the room.

The Fujisakis left, and Nadeshiko was the first out the door.

And, fortunately, my parents decided to leave too; not without first making sure the principal gave me escorts when I walked around compus, but my parents left.

**Nagihiko's POV**

I left as quickly as I could, but of course that wasn't the end of it.

"I'm still upset with you. Violence? You could've ruined the reputation and high esteem of the Fujisaki name." My father said.

"What was I supposed to do? Let her be sexually assaulted? She's more important than whatever reputation you think our family has." I replied.

"Of course that girl is more important, but something tells me you weren't protecting her simply because it was the right thing to do."

"Don't get any wrong ideas."

"Surely you've noticed how beautiful she is. Forgive me for having my doubts that you don't have feelings for her."

"I've just met her, it's not anything like that." I lied.

"I hope not."

"Why?"

"According to her, you're roommates."

"What are you trying to say…"

"I'm trying to say don't make any stupid decisions."

"Oh." I mumbled, embarrassed. "Like I said, it's not like that. She hates me."

"Well, she stood up for you in there, didn't she?" My father asked.

"No, she stood up for _Nadeshiko._ She hates _me._"

"I see."

"Your father and I are leaving." My mother said. "Just go back to your dorm and don't get into any more fights."

"Alright." I said.

Fortunately for me, the dorm was just down the hall.

I walked in and saw that Tadase was busy fucking some random girl.

He probably heard me open the door, but he didn't look up.

We're both used to it, anyways. Throughout the years we've gone to this school together, I've walked in on him and a girl _way _too many times.

"Get a room." I groaned as I headed towards the bathroom to change out of my kimono.

"What?" Tadase said tauntingly. "_I'm sorry_, I couldn't hear you. I'm too busy hooking up with a girl. It's nice that _you're _free, though."

"You're so clever it astounds me." I muttered sarcastically, as I finally walked into the bathroom.

When did he become such a jerk? I've been best friends with him since middle school, and I can remember a time when he was kind, polite, and considerate. Now he was just a rude jerk who constantly had girls on his mind. And, yes, I'm only saying he has his mind on girls to be politically correct. You see, it's not nice to call someone a sex-crazed, perverted horndog who only thinks with his dick.

I changed my clothes and as I opened the door to leave the bathroom, I heard _noises_. _Their_ noises. I couldn't deal with listening to that until they were, well, finished; so I decided to wait in Rima's room. It was separate, after all. I hoped she wouldn't mind, or maybe I just shouldn't tell her. Not telling her seems like a good plan.

Her bags were still in here, but she hadn't unpacked any of them. The only thing left out was her laptop… with the screen up.

I resisted the urge to peek, and I closed it.

All of a sudden, I heard a high-pitched scream.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON? WERE YOU TWO… OH MY GOD!"

That voice could only belong to one person.

The tiny blonde ran into her room looking traumatized. Too traumatized to even be pissed that I was in here.

"Does that happen a lot?" Rima asked.

"…Yeah, sorry about that. You'll get used to it, I swear." I answered, trying to calm her down.

"I don't _want_ to get used to walking in on people having sex." She replied. "I shouldn't _have_ to get used to it."

"Why are you here anyways? I thought you were staying the night in Amu's dorm." I said.

"I forgot something…" She said, but then her eyes grew wide.

She looked like she got kicked in the stomach.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

With a gasp, she finally choked out the words "I never told you I was staying at Amu's."

No! Please tell me I didn't just dig my own grave. I have to somehow find a way out of this.

"Uh… I saw you leave with her." I lied.

"You didn't. _You_ weren't at the fireworks… but Nadeshiko was." She said, unblinking; mouth agape.

"Rima, don't misunderstand…" I pleaded.

"It all makes sense. Your hint, the pink egg..." She said dazily.

"Please…" I whispered.

"You and Amu have 'met many times before' because you were her best friend Nadeshiko." She continued, ignoring the fact that I'd spoken at all. "The pink egg must be Temari's. I can't believe I've figured out your biggest secret."

"Don't tell." I begged. "If Amu finds out that Nadeshiko's really me, a boy, she'll hate me forever!"

"You saved me, Nagihiko." She said. "The least I can do is keep your secret."

"Thank you." I sighed in relief.

"Besides…" said Rima, "It won't make very good blackmail if I tell people right away."

And with that, she grabbed her laptop and walked out the door.

So now the one person who truly hates me knows my deepest secret. I never expected her to figure it out on the first day. She could use this secret against me at any moment, but would she? Maybe she's not completely evil. I mean, like she said, I _did _save her… that's worth keeping this secret, right? Or maybe she _is_ evil and that won't even matter to her. Right now I have to put my trust in the hands of the one person who would like nothing more than to cause my utter demise.

This could only end well.

**Hey guys, I'm back ^_^ Sorry for the extremely late update D:**

**I've been going through some personal things for the past few months, and that kinda complicated my writing schedule.**

**But, I've finally returned with a new chapter and I hope you like it :3 **

**Anyways, thank you guys for being so kind. Sorry I don't update frequently, but I'll try to. **

**So, um… please review :]**


	6. Up In Smoke

**Rima's POV**

So _that's_ Fujisaki-kun's secret. I know I joked about it earlier, but I was seriously starting to wonder if he was gay. I mean, he was a crossdresser, a dancer; and, really, what kind of teenage boy honestly isn't interested in sex? I wanted to tell his secret so badly, but I knew I couldn't. Why? Because it would be the bitchiest thing in the world to ruin his life after he saved mine. I'm a bitch, I'm not denying that, but I'm not that much of a bitch. In all honesty, I failed to comprehend exactly why he would bother to try to save me. The stupid rich boy clearly has a lot more to lose than I do, so why risk his safety? Especially for someone like me who goes out of my way to be mean to him. Another thing I failed to comprehend was why am I mean to him at all? He's not a bad person. I don't think I really hated Fujisaki-kun, I just got peeved at him easily. It wasn't his fault, if I'm being truthful. He just happened to be the wrong person in the wrong place at the wrong time; being the former best friend of Amu, who is now my best friend, and talking to her in front of me. I guess I just felt threatened that he'd take her away. But, when it was "Nadeshiko" that threatened my friendship with Amu, I got over that quite quickly. Maybe it's just the fact he's a boy. Amu is very fickle when it comes to love and maybe I thought he'd steal her heart and then steal her entirely. No… Amu's had boyfriends in the past and I was never this pissed and jealous about them.

Maybe it's as simple as he's just not the type of person I get along with. I'm done overcomplicating things. All I know is that he pisses me off very easily and I have information that could ruin him in the palm of my hands… I just can't tell anyone.

I walked back to Amu's dorm to find the girls describing each other's personality based on their star signs. Now, I'd never really believed in astrology, but I had to admit it was interesting. I mean, it must at least be as meaningful as classifying a person's personality by bloodtype. In Japan, people say a person's bloodtype tells a lot about them; or, at least, more people believe in that than believe in the Zodiac signs. I didn't really believe in either, but the stars telling about a person seemed like a more romantic concept than blood.

"Amu-chan, what's your star sign?" Yua asked.

"Libra." She replied.

"Ok, it says in my book that Libras seek equality, harmony, and balance." Lulu said, reading from an astrology book.

I watched from the door as they searched more on Libras.

"It also says that Libras are social, and somewhat intellectual. Sounding familiar, Amu?" Yua commented, taking the book from Lulu's hands.

"Maybe a little." She said, smiling.

"Sounds like you, Amu-chi!" Yaya exclaimed.

"Ok." Yua continued. "It says that in their endeavor to find balance, they try to impress everyone. They have a reputation for untruthfulness."

Amu looked like she might drop dead, but she put on a poker face. "Like I thought, this star stuff is nothing."

"It hit the nail on the head." I said with a slight grin.

"Rima-chan, when did you get back? Why'd you leave, anyways?" She asked.

"I had to get this." I said, lifting up my laptop. "I would've said something, but I didn't want to interrupt Horoscope Hour."

"Why don't we search up Rima's star sign?" Utau suggested.

"I'd prefer we didn't. I mean, it read Amu like a book but I'm a little more complicated than that." I said.

"You're just scared we might see you as something other than our beautiful little bitch." Amu said, laughing.

"Really? I've been called a bitch how many times today?" I sighed. "_I _can call myself a bitch, not you."

"Come one, Rima. Your birthday's February 6th, right? That makes you an Aquarius." She replied.

"Fine. Read about my star sign. You're going to anyways." I replied.

"Ok, it says 'Aquariuses are great organizers, full of flair and originality, although usually lacking discipline and the capacity for prolonged effort (minions must be found to do the slog work)." Yua read.

I was surprised how accurate that really was. For years, I've relied on fanboys to do everything for me. My minions. I am great at organizing things, but I'm not so sure I'm full of flair and originality. I was a boring person, in the most general use of the word. I just had nothing interesting about me.

"It says you rely on people, because you 'tend to get bored and can wonder off.' In other words, you're lazy and have a short attention-span." She continued.

"Oh, thanks." I rolled my eyes.

Well, maybe I was wrong. Astrology wasn't interesting, it was just embarrassing. It was vague enough to apply to just about anybody, but it still made it seem like it was legit. Not that it was. Is this what sleepovers are like? If so, they were boring as hell. At least back at my dorm, I would have Fujisaki-kun to tease and that never gets dull. I sort of wanted to leave because I was so bored, but that would make my star sign sound even more real.

"Does anyone want to play Truth or Dare?" Utau asked.

"Yes! Yes! Yes! Yaya hasn't played Truth or Dare since sixth grade!" Yaya said.

"Rima, what about you?" Lulu asked.

"Well, sure. I guess that would be alright." I replied.

"I'm in." Amu said.

"Me too." Yua chimed in.

"Ok, so who's going first?" Utau asked.

"I will." Amu said. "Rima, truth or dare?"

"Truth." I answered, because I'm a chicken.

"If you could play one sport, what would it be?" She asked.

"I loathe sports with a passion. But I suppose if I had to choose, it would be basketball." I answered.

Everyone laughed.

"What's so funny?" I asked, struggling to keep control of my temper. Rima Mashiro is not laughed at; she's laughed _with._ Rima Mashiro also thinks it's fun to talk in third person.

"You know you're too short to play basketball." Utau said.

"You seem to have forgotten that I share a dorm with the basketball captain. I'm sure he'd help me if I asked him." I said.

"Maybe if you fuck him, he'll give you free lessons." She snickered.

"You're so evil." I grumbled.

"Thank you." The pop princess replied.

"What's that about?" Yua asked.

"Yeah, what do you mean 'maybe if you fuck him'?" Lulu added.

"Rima and I made a little bet. She has to lose her virginity to Nagihiko Fujisaki before Christmas break. If she loses, she owes me a footrub." Utau explained.

"You're a virgin?" Yua asked me. "That's so precious!"

"Don't go spreading it around." I groaned.

Utau snickered some more.

"While we're on the subject, Utau, we haven't discussed what happens if _you_ lose." I uttered mischievously.

"I think my shame would be enough of a punishment." She said, her voice higher pitched due to her fear. She knew I had a merciless sense of vengeance.

"Oh, I'm sure you can stand more. I have to lose my dignity and sexual innocence, so you can manage a bit more than 'shame'." I said evilly.

"What is it?" She asked, sighing. "What happens if you win?"

"You have to run naked around the campus and let me film it." I replied.

"Why do you have to film it?" She asked stubbornly.

"Documentation, my dear Utau. Blackmail just isn't as useful through word-of-mouth alone." I said matter-of-factly.

"And this is why I didn't tell you Nagihiko's secret." Utau hissed. "You're horrible!"

"Oh, I already know Fujisaki-kun's secret." I said.

"Stop bluffing." She griped.

"I'm not." I said as my lips twisted into a smirk.

"Ok, then prove it." She challenged.

I kept my smug expression intact as I whispered into her ear, so as to keep it secret. "Nagihiko is Nadeshiko. Is that proof enough for you?"

She looked pale and I could tell she was struggling not to scream, "How… the hell… did you….find out…"

"Let's just say he said a little more than he should have." I replied nonchalantly.

"It took me a fucking year to find out and you figured it out on the first day you met him!" Utau yelled, practically throwing a fit.

"Nagihiko has a secret?" Amu asked.

"Yes, Amu-chan." Utau growled. "And he should've told you of all people by now."

"Get over it. Honestly, it's foolish to get worked up over such nonsense." I said coldly.

"Rima-tan, why so serious?" Yaya asked.

"I'm not in the mood to deal with Utau's drama." I said.

Suddenly, Utau sighed. "Sorry, Rima. I'm a little pissed you figured it out so soon, but whatever. So, was it shocking?"

"Not really. I mean, Fujisaki-kun already was pretty weird." I replied.

"Why do you keep calling him 'Fujisaki-kun'?" She asked.

"I'm distancing myself from him." I said. "I don't want him getting too close."

"Scared you just might fall in love, are you?" Utau taunted.

"Love doesn't exist." I said, brushing away the ridiculous subject. "Humans are just like any other mammals; we find a mate and have sex in order to preserve the species by giving birth to offspring. Love has nothing to do with it. It's all chemicals, science, and species preservation."

"How can you say that?" Amu yelled.

"Rima-tan, Yaya didn't know you were so cynical." Yaya said.

"I'm with them on this one." Yua reprimanded.

"You're heartless." Lulu added.

"No, I'm just not stupid enough to wait around for my 'one true love'." I spat. "Because I know I'll never find it. And do you know why? _Love doesn't exist._"

They all stared at me like I was some blasphemous freak. Maybe I was a bit cynical, but I learned a long time ago that love doesn't exist. It's an illusion people create to keep themselves from breaking. I admit to saying things like "fall in love" but that's out of sheer lack of better words. It's more literally "fall in sexual attraction due to pheromones." _Love_ is lust, or in more mild terms, infatuation. If love truly existed, there wouldn't be so much heartbreak in the world and so many couples wouldn't get divorced. I don't believe in the perfect couple, or the perfect boy. The day I get married, it won't be to someone I "love", it'll be to a chosen mate with the best genetic background.

"You truly are a lonely person, even more than I imagined." Utau whispered.

"I'm doing just fine on my own." I replied, my pride getting the best of me.

"People need other people, Rima." She argued.

"You wouldn't understand, because you've never been in love." Amu uttered, sorrow in her voice. "It's one of the most beautiful things in the world. But it's also one of the most painful."

"Then I guess I'm not missing out on anything." I said, dismissing what she'd said.

"We'll never convince you, will we?" Amu asked.

"No. I'm sorry, but no." I replied.

"The day you fall in love, I'll be waiting to say 'I told you so.'" She said, smiling, with a gleam of hope in her eyes.

"I'm done talking about this." I said.

**Nagihiko's POV**

I stayed locked in Rima's room until I finally heard the girl Tadase was with leave. Even so, I was almost scared to leave the room. Like reality would set in then. How could this tiny blonde girl with a short fuse and an even shorter attention-span find out my secret? How could I _let _her find out? I'm getting too old for this double-life bullshit, damn it! I'm a high school Sophomore and I'm still worrying about a secret I've had since I was three. Maybe I've outgrown this duo identity. Maybe I should just get it out into the open and be rid of the skeletons in my closet. No more hiding. No more pretending.

I laughed when I thought of how badly that would piss off Rima to no longer have anything to use against me; her adorable round face twisted into a furious expression so deadly that if looks could kill it would be mass murder. She really is something, isn't she? So... _lively,_ to say the least. Would I be an idiot if I said I might be falling for her? I mean, it's not like I haven't liked girls before but… Rima's different. She's impossible to win, but so tempting.

Tadase, like a mouse to a trap, couldn't resist interrupting my quiet to gloat about how he's "far superior" to me because he couldn't keep it in his pants.

"You finally found your way into a girl's bedroom. All you're missing is the girl." He taunted.

"You know that I _choose_ not to get laid by a different chick every single night, right?"

"Yeah, I just don't know why."

"I was raised to believe that I'm supposed to wait for someone special; somebody I love."

"Whatever. My parents told me that too, but that doesn't mean I listened." Tadase said.

"Because you don't believe it. I do." I replied.

"Anyways, Ikuto just texted me. He wanted me to talk to you."

"What does that bastard want?" I growled.

I hated Ikuto with a passion. He led girls on, and made sure that their hearts were broken beyond the point of ever being repaired. He lived to see the tears shed from their eyes as they realized they lost the most dangerous game in the world, and it's always merely play with Ikuto. But any decent person knows better: girls are not toys to be broken and tossed aside. It's a cruel, sick game that he plays to fuel his sadistic lust. I had no doubt in my mind that he'd look the other way if one of those girls were to burn alive in front of him.

"Ikuto-niisan wants to crash some slumber party. I think he said it's in his ex-girlfriend's dorm." Tadase explained.

"Who's his ex-girlfriend?" I asked. As if I cared.

"Some girl named Amu."

Now I cared. "What business does he have with a nice girl like Amu?"

"The slumber party is supposedly _filled_ with hot girls. That's what business he has."

My hatred gets more personal when Ikuto decides to mess around with one of my best friends. Amu is way too sweet of a girl to be played by the likes of him.

"Amu was like my sister way back when I still lived as Nadeshiko." I whispered angrily. "How dare he even try-"

"Calm down." Tadase said. "If it bothers you so bad, I'll tell him to leave her alone. But, come on, man, this will be so much fun!"

After waiting a few moments, he added, "Rima's going to be there…"

"So? I was already at that slumber party. It's nothing exciting, just normal girl stuff." I replied

"So _that's _where you went after the fireworks." He said. "To hang out with a bunch of girls….."

Tadase paused for a moment, in realization, before he blurted out excitedly, "Wow, you've really got to show me the ropes about that whole crossdressing thing!"

My voice tightened as my anger grew "I seem to have forgot to mention this, but I take things very seriously. Especially crossdressing. I just might have to hurt you if you talk about it so lightly."

"Don't get your big girl panties in a knot." He said, rolling his eyes.

"You are so lucky I promised my parents no more fights." I huffed.

"Oh, yeah… I heard about that. I heard that you kicked some guys' asses for messing with Rima."

"Well, it's true. My Nadeshiko side can get a little violent sometimes."

I watched as right before my eyes his expression softened. The first show of compassion I'd seen from him in years. "How people can do such a thing is beyond me. I know you like her, so I'm sorry you had to see her be treated like that."

"I miss this side of you." I said, smiling. "The real side. And don't worry, they got what they deserved."

"You know, if she knew you were Nadeshiko you'd have earned some major points with her."

My cheeks reddened as I whispered, "She knows."

"...Let me get this straight: she knows you saved her, yet you're not taking advantage of it?"

"No. Why would I? She owes me _nothing_. I would've done it for anybody."

"But you didn't do it for anybody, you did it for her. Even if you're not gonna fuck her, you kiss girls don't you?"

"Yeah, I kiss girls." I replied, thinly veiling my irritation. "I'm not _that much _of a prude, you know."

"Don't act like you don't want to do nasty things with Rima."

"My libido is under control." I said quickly, before he could continue. "Thanks for being so concerned."

"You act like you're perfect, but face it- you're just as perverted as the rest of us. Don't act like your hormones aren't going crazy. When you see her, you think the same thing as any other guy: 'That girl is sexy as hell and I want her.' What makes you so different?"

"Of course I want her." I finally admitted tempestuously. "She's the most beautiful girl in school and I'm only human, after all. But I'm not like you; I'm not going to go that far. Call me a romantic, but I want to fall in love with a girl before I finally go all the way... The fact of the matter is I don't love Rima." And it was true; whatever feelings I might have for her certainly didn't amount to love. Despite how beautiful she may be, how could somebody come to love a girl as unapproachable as she is?

"When will you realize that love and sex are completely unrelated?" He asked.

I could tell by the disgust in his eyes that he thought of me as nothing but pathetic. It's times like that I almost wish I could just get it over with so he'll stop his incessant griping, but I knew that if I did that I'd really hate myself afterwards. Why did he care anyways? It's none of his business. Just because he puts his sex life on display, that doesn't mean _I _have to.

All of a sudden, an idea hit me like a bat to a baseball. I'll prove to him that, even if indirect, a lot of emotions are involved with sex. It isn't something to be passed around so casually; it's dangerous and sometimes even heartbreaking. Special.

"You love Utau, right?" I asked, setting him up.

"Of course. She's practically my sister." He replied.

"What if I told you that Kukai slept with her?" I muttered mischievously.

His face turned red and I could've sworn I saw smoke come out of his ears.

"HOW COULD THAT FUCKING NO-GOOD BASTARD GO NEAR HER!" He screamed.

"But sex and love are completely unrelated, right? Why do you care?" I asked.

Tadase was on the fast track to putting his foot in his mouth, but he stopped himself from speaking. He knew that anything he said would be hypocritical; Kukai did what playboys do best, and Tadase couldn't condemn him for that.

"You might be right." He sighed. "Not completely, but still."

"I'm glad you're starting to understand." I said.

"Anyways, I still want to go to that slumber party."

Ok, maybe Hotori-kun didn't understand completely. But, as it was, my cell phone started ringing and I couldn't respond to him.

"Hello?" I answered my phone.

"_I hope you don't think you're going to get away with leaving without a goodbye again." _I could tell by the demanding voice that it was Utau.

"Oh, Utau. Hello. I was just talking about you." I said casually.

_"Cut the bullshit, Fujisaki. I'm in no mood for chitchat. You need to come back to the party and say goodbye properly." _

"So you want me to come back after I've already had Nadeshiko leave?" I asked.

"_You care about Amu, don't you? Think of an excuse to come back."_

"OK, I'll be there." I said curtly. Utau Hoshina is the bossiest woman I've ever met.

_"You better be, or your time's up."_ She hissed and before I could respond I heard the dial tone. She'd already hung up.

"What did Utau want?" Tadase asked.

"I have to go back to the sleepover and have Nadeshiko say goodbye." I replied.

"So you're gonna let her tell you what to do?" He asked.

"It's for Amu, so yes. Besides, didn't you _want_ me to go there?"

"Well, yes, but as yourself."

"You can come, too, if you don't reveal my identity."

"It's not me you should worry about revealing your identity."

That's right… Rima knew now, as well. Would she tell? Was it worth the risk? Even if she did tell, how much longer am I supposed to keep up this façade anyways? It's just too much trouble now! Whatever happens, happens. I've grown up enough to handle the consequences.

"_Qué será será."_ I said. "I'm done. I'm not going to tell, but I'm not exactly going to be upset if the secret gets out."

"So, I'm going to the slumber party, right? "

I rolled my eyes and nodded. "Yes."

"And so can Ikuto-niisan and the others?"

"I guess. But, if you're told to leave, you _leave_."

"Deal."

"Now." I said, clearing my throat. "If you'll excuse me, I need to change."

**Rima's POV**

The girls continued with their game of truth or dare, but I quit after the first round. That whole conversation about the myth of "love" really wore me out, and it gave me so many contradicting thoughts that my head began to spin. I wanted to believe in something that sounded so beautiful, but at the same time I think it's safer to just say that love doesn't exist. Any logical person will tell you that people are animals and we mate the same way other animals do, love has nothing to do with it. Why do people want love so much?

Speaking of annoying and untruthful things, it wasn't long before Mr. Tall, Dumb & Obnoxious had returned to ruin my peace. As Nadeshiko. Oh, and joy, he brought friends. Stupid, bottom feeding, disease-ridden, lower lifeform playboy friends.

"Nadeshiko, you're back." I said. "….Why?"

"I thought that Amu-chan deserved a proper goodbye this time." The manipulative bastard said.

"And I wanted to see Amu-koi as well." Ikuto followed, and Fujisaki looked like he'd strangle him. "So I brought the group. Nadeshiko said it was alright."

"Well, that wasn't her permission to give." I growled.

I could feel my blood pressure rising now that I knew how twisted Fujisaki-kun really was. I couldn't separate the girl from the boy and now it was truly freaking me out.

"Utau, do you have any smokes on you?" I asked.

"I have a few left in my pack." She said, reaching in her pocket and handing me a cigarette and a lighter. "Don't you have your own?"

"Please. My mom completely trashed my stash after she caught me." I replied, lighting the cigarette.

I know it's a bad habit. It's not like I do it all the time, though. Utau introduced me to smoking a few years ago after one of my parents' bigger fights; she told me it would relax me and I took the bait. To tell the truth, I hate the smell and taste of cigarettes, which is that of pure ash, but every time I get really stressed out, I always smoke. I'm not trying to convince anyone to smoke, because I know I'll look forty by the time I'm twenty-five and I'll die in my fifties and other crap like that…but I don't care. It works for me. **(A/N: Before anybody asks: no, I don't smoke. Please don't smoke, it's extremely bad for you.)**

"Rima-chan, you smoke?" Freak-of-Nature asked as I pressed the cigarette to my lips.

"Yeah. Got a problem with that?" I asked, blowing smoke in Fujisaki's face. I hoped the smell would stick to his stupid kimono.

He wrinkled his nose and replied, in his false girl voice, "No. I just thought you were smart enough to know better. My mistake."

I glared at him as I doused the cigarette in a glass of water. "Happy?"

"Good girl, Rima-chan." Quoth the arrogant prick.

"Smoking turns your lungs into char." Lulu told me.

"Yeah, yeah." I mumbled, uninterested. I didn't need to be preached at like a child.

"You know, I'm really glad you came back, Nadeshiko." Amu said, smiling.

"Yaya's glad too!" The childish girl added.

"I missed you a lot." _Nadeshiko_ said softly, and I wondered if those words were true.

"Why'd you have to leave? Why couldn't you have stayed? Why can't you stay now?" The rosette asked.

"One day, you'll understand. In fact, I promise you will." He said with a huge grin plastered on his face.

"Nadeshiko, I think it's time we should be leaving." said Temari from behind Fujisaki-kun.

"I suppose so." He replied, still making me wonder how it's humanly possible for a boy to act as a girl so well.

Before he could leave, Amu wrapped her arms around him.

"Nadeshiko, please let me know the next time you come to Japan." Amu whispered.

He/she hugged her back and whispered, "I really have missed you so much, Amu-chan. I'm sorry I have to leave again."

Fujisaki-kun should be grateful he pulled away, because somebody was about to get shot. No boy dares touch my best friend in front of me, whether they're dressed as a girl or not.

Before I knew it, Yaya joined in the hugging, whining like the baby that she was inside. Sentiments make me want to barf.

"That's enough of that. Don't make it more difficult." I hissed.

"I'm sorry. I'll leave." The crossdresser replied. "But I promise to Amu and Yaya that I'll be back. I always keep my word."

"Because you're always honest about everything." I replied.

It pissed me off to no end that the stupid fucking tranny was attempting to seem honest. His whole life is a lie! That's all he does: lie, lie, lie. It's almost as if he believes the words he says. I'm no therapist, but I'd say he's a pathological liar with identity issues. Am I getting the point across that he's a _LIAR?_

"There are certain circumstances in which lying is necessary." The heir(_ess) _replied.

"This ought to be good." I challenged, folding my arms as I waited to hear what would be an entertaining excuse at best.

"Listen, bitch-" Ikuto yelled at me, knowing I clearly intended on exposing the truth. Or, rather, having Fujisaki-kun expose the truth himself.

"Don't talk to her that way!" Fujisaki yelled at Kitty-Boy, his feminine façade still not shattered.

Wait a second, did he just defend me? Is he stupid enough to _still_ be trying to play the good-guy… and am I stupid enough to be falling for the act? I'm sick of him coming to my rescue like I'm some damsel in distress. I'm not a fragile little thing. I can handle insults; I've spent my life being talked about and bullied by girls. Maybe I'm not physically strong, but I'm certainly not some fair maiden who needs a knight in shining armor to protect her; though, in Fujisaki's case, I suppose it would be "knight in floral kimono". Yeah, I'm pretty sure he's gay.

"Boohoo. He called me a bitch, who hasn't?" I protested, protecting my dignity. "Stop coming to my defense! It makes it hard for me to dislike you."

Ok, maybe I hadn't meant to blurt that last part out.

Fujisaki, the pompous prick, grinned in undeserved pride. "Careful, Rima-chan, somebody might start to think you care."

"Careful, washboard, somebody might start to think you're delusional."

He ruffled my hair and said, "You really are too cute."

"DON'T TOUCH MY HAIR, YOU IDIOT!" I screeched like a bat out of Hell, but before I could get a chance to hit him, he grabbed my hands.

I realize how entirely humiliating this is, but my cheeks flushed. His hands were so soft and I wanted nothing more than for our fingers to intertwine…

Ew! What the hell am I saying? N-no. Fuck no! Thinking like that is disgusting. No way would I ever be seriously interested in an idiot like him!

"Why are you blushing, Rima?" Yua asked. "Are you a lesbian?"

"Only for me." The creep replied.

"You wish. I'm not interested in _girls_." I said.

Fujisaki chuckled, understanding my implication. "You're not my type anyway."

Maybe it was my ego talking, but I wanted to slap him into insanity. I would have, too, if he hadn't still been holding my hands.

"Get along, you two." Amu intervened. "Anyways, I'm going to miss you Nadeshiko."

"I'll miss you, too, Amu-chan. I'll be back soon, I promise. Besides, the next time you see me I'll have something important to tell you." He said, hugging her and Yaya once more before heading towards the door.

"Such a shame you're leaving." I said as he left. "I know: I'll smoke a whole pack of cigarettes in your honor."

"Enjoy your lung cancer." He replied, not looking back. The train of his kimono trailed against the ground.

"You know, Mashiro-san, your rudeness is quite off-putting." The green-haired boy, Kairi, said in a monotone that would rival mine.

"Do you think that I'd care?" I asked. "If people leave me alone, that's a good thing, isn't it?"

"If you'd prefer to grow old alone."

I pondered that for a moment. Growing old alone just didn't sound as pleasant as it used to. I mean, sure, it'd be great; I'd live in silence and have no bothersome people pestering me, but… that's the same reason I don't want to be alone. With solitude comes loneliness. One cannot exist without the other. Humans are social beings; they need companionship. I mean, all the lonely old cat ladies I know are fucked up in the head, that's for sure. It makes sense, really. Who'd truly want to live life by themselves?

"It's not that. It's just…" I whispered, not even sure of how to end that sentence.

"If you spend your time pushing people away, eventually they'll wonder why they bothered trying to get near you in the first place." The serious boy replied.

"What do you know?" I yelled. "I don't need a middle schooler talking down to me!"

"Suit yourself, but lay off _Nadeshiko. _She did save you, after all." So he had heard of the incident, and apparently of my knowledge of the secret.

I know word travels fast, but isn't there a speed limit?

"You know…" Amu thought out loud. "It's funny that Nagihiko wasn't with Nadeshiko even once. Now that I think about it, I haven't seen him since this morning."

I instantly recognized the opportunity and, as if reading my mind, Utau said, "The ball's in your court now, Rima."

"What are you talking about, Utau?" Amu asked.

"Nothing." I rushed.

"I see." Utau grinned. "So loyal to somebody you supposedly hate. You know what they say: denial is a river in Egypt."

"Fuck off." I cursed.

She always has a tendency of saying the most nauseating things. Who the hell does she think she is? So she's a popstar, she's rich, she's famous… never mind. For somebody who can't stand the wealthy, I sure do have a problem associating with them. My best friend's an idol, my roommate's an heir; fuck my life.

"For a girl, you sure are vulgar." Tadase said.

"Fuck you, you fucking sexist prick!" I pseudo-scolded with a hint of amusement in my voice.

"Oh, am I no longer the object of your derision?" Asked a familiar voice that made my skin crawl. I had to give Fujisaki-kun credit, though: he was an ace at fast wardrobe changes.

"Nagi-sama!" squealed Lulu.

"Oh, look what the perverted cat dragged in; a flaming queer." I jeered.

"1.) There's nothing wrong with gay people. 2.) Looks like you're running out of material, clown girl."

"You're not denying it."

"Because actions speak for themselves." He said as he leaned closer to me.

Just then I felt my chest jolt instinctively, as if I was preparing to protect myself. "Stay away from me."

He looked taken aback and softly he said, "You're genuinely scared, aren't you?"

"I don't trust boys. Give me my space!"

"I'd never hurt you, Rima-chan."

"I don't know that. By the way, it's Mashiro to you; use whatever honorific you want."

"Look, Rima-" He said, reaching out a hand to touch my shoulder.

"I said to call me Mashiro!" I stopped him, slapping away his hand. "And back off! It's not funny!"

"You know what happened tonight, don't you?" Amu asked him.

After that, he didn't say anything more. He took a place next to Kukai at the other end of the room and they had a quiet conversation between themselves.

I wish I didn't have to be so afraid. It seemed really stupid to be afraid of my hero… Excuse me while I vomit. Anyways, why should I be afraid of him? My brain knew he wouldn't hurt me, but something inside of me wanted to run from all boys who got too close. Natural, I suppose, but I felt humiliated. So helpless. I have to live in fear and it's on full display. Besides, I told Nadeshiko that I'd kiss her if she were a boy… and it turns out that she is. If this is ever mentioned again, I'll deny it; but I kinda wanted to kiss him. How weird, right?

"You know, I really am fine, Amu." I defended quietly.

"No you're not, but that's OK. You try to act like you're so strong, but the truth is you're a girl, Rima; you're vulnerable. It's alright to admit you're scared." She replied.

What an idiot she is. Like I'd ever admit to being scared. I'm already seen as a weak little girl because of my size, I don't need to give any more reason for people to look down on me. If people start seeing me as vulnerable, they'll take advantage of me. As if I needed that.

"Just forget it." I said.

"So, Rima, aren't you grateful that your friends and Nadeshiko were there to help you tonight?" Tadase asked.

"I would've been raped otherwise, so, yes, I'm grateful. Don't get me wrong, I'm extremely thankful." I said. "But I've been kidnapped before so it isn't like I didn't expect this sort of harassment to happen again."

"You got kidnapped before? Did they-"

"No. They talked about all the things they were going to do, but the police found me before anything happened."

"Poor thing."

"You're oddly compassionate when you want to be." I told the princelike boy.

"Guess so. By the way, sorry you walked in on me and that chick."

"Don't remind me."

"I mean, it's not like you don't have experience with stuff like that." He defended.

"I actually don't." I admitted, embarrassed.

"I can change that."

"Shut the fuck up or you'll never speak again."

You know, compared to the other playboys Nagihiko really isn't so bad. I mean, at least he doesn't hit on me like I'm just a piece of ass.

"Rima, do you want to play Truth or Dare with us again?" Amu asked.

As I debated my answer, Kukai said, "You know what would be fun? Since there are boys and girls here, we should play spin the bottle!"

"You're so immature. I haven't played spin the bottle since middle school." Utau griped.

"That's because nowadays you skip the kissing and go right to-"

"You better not finish that sentence, you bastard!"

"A whore is a whore, Utau. Just because you deny it doesn't mean it's not true."

"You want to know who's the real whore?" She asked.

"Enlighten me." Kukai challenged.

"Rima."

"Excuse me, bitch?" I asked in disbelief. "What the fuck is your problem?"

"Chill, short stuff." Kukai told me, turning to Utau. "Pop princess, how exactly is the tiny virgin a whore?"

I can't believe my supposed friend is such a backstabbing bitch. Fuck her! Now I know why I hate people: because people are two-faced, backstabbing, sniveling asshats!

"I'll tell you why." Utau began. "Remember that bet Rima and I made…"

Shit! NO! She was going to blab about the bet with Fujisaki here. I knew I had to stop her, and I knew how. I'd use my area of expertise: blackmail.

"Utau, if you don't shut your fucking yap, I'll write a tell-all biography about you and how much of a slutty, nasty bitch you are. I'm sure the parents of your young fans will love it."

She glared at me with an ice-cold stare that I swore could've frozen me. "You know the truth, Rima; you know that you're no better than I am. Whore."

"Why do girls call each other bitches and whores?" Fujisaki asked. "It only makes it OK for guys to call you bitches and whores."

"Give it a few months and you'll be calling Rima a whore, too." The two-faced bitch also known as Utau told him.

"Never."

"We'll just see about that."

Well, there goes the rest of my school year. Never before in my life had I felt so miserable. Someone who was supposed to be my best friend was calling me a whore and the only reason she didn't completely ruin the bet for me was because I threatened her. I shouldn't have expected more out of a shallow popstar, but for some stupid reason I did. Utau is the biggest slut I know, so why the hell does she have a problem with me accepting that bet? If memory serves, I begged her to let me out of it but she wouldn't let me. Isn't she the one who said "It's embarrassing to be a virgin at this age"? I am not a whore. I am not a whore. I am not a whore…am I?

At least, I don't _think_ I'm a whore.

"Utau's just mad because everyone knows she fucks every guy she meets." Ikuto said.

"I do not…" She whispered in quiet protest.

I could hear a quiver in her voice that exposed her humiliation. No girl, no matter how pigheaded and proud, liked having a reputation as a skank. I guess she was just trying to give somebody else that tag; now, I'm not saying it was OK at all that she backstabbed me like that, but I understood. What Ikuto said must've especially hurt; what kind of brother talks about his sister like that?

"Utau's not a whore." I said. "She's sexually liberated. It's a sad day when a group of playboys makes fun of a girl for having lots of sex."

"That's because it's OK for guys, not girls." Tadase explained.

"Before I go on a tirade about how blatantly sexist that is, please explain." I requested.

"Let's put it this way: if you have a key that opens lots of locks, it's a master key. If you have a lock that's opened by lots of keys, it's just a shitty lock."

All of a sudden Utau's nose was red and she went into a sneezing fit.

"Are you alright, Utau?" I asked.

"I'm really sorry, Rima. I'll be OK, but I guess that one song was right…" She replied.

"I'm sorry, too. What song?"

"Have you ever seen the musical _Guys and Dolls_?"

"Musical? Yuck. Of course not."

"Well, there's a song about this. Adelaide's Lament."

I didn't bother to ask her about it, because that would be inviting her to sing. It's not that she's bad, but I didn't want to deal with her diva issues right now.

"I'm really not a whore, you know." She explained.

"Well…" I began.

"Really. It's just… I try so hard to be in a good relationship with the guys I date, and I sleep with them because for some stupid reason I hope it'll make them stay. But they always leave."

"You must be really bad at it then." I teased.

Utau began to laugh, but she stopped herself. "I'm serious. Maybe that is the problem, but either way it's left me with a hell of a reputation."

All of a sudden, Kukai chimed in with that thousand-watt grin of his. "Utau, take it from someone who's been around: guys don't respect girls who give it up easily. They don't take those kinds of chicks seriously. I think you're one of the smartest, prettiest, most talented, wittiest girls there is. If you made guys put up a fight, I guarantee there isn't one boy out there who wouldn't jump through hoops to stay with you."

Her eyes began to water, but her voice remained steady. "Do you mean that?"

"I wouldn't be so sure. It might be one of his playboy lines." I cautioned.

"I'm actually being genuine." He assured. "What kind of guy do you take me for? I'm nothing if not honest."

Utau became quiet and she stared off dazily, obviously distracted. Thinking of something.

"Something wrong, Utau-tan?" Yaya asked.

"I was just thinking about how I don't hear sincere things like that often. I mean, my dad left and my mom is so physically and mentally worn that Ikuto and I hardly even talk to her."

"Things must be pretty lonely at home." Amu said.

"Well, a little, but at least I have my brother." She said as Ikuto scoffed. "It'd have been much worse if I were an only child."

As an only child, I'll admit that there were times when I longed for a sibling. Being an only child really is lonely. If I had a sister, she'd be my best friend. If I had a brother, he'd be my greatest rival. Either way, at the end of the day I'd know there was somebody who'd always love me and would be there for me when I needed them. Unlike friends, your family is obliged to love you unconditionally.

"Being an only child really is a lonely thing." Na- I mean, Fujisaki-kun said.

"What do you know about being an only child?" Amu asked, less harshly than how it appears in writing. "You're a twin."

"About that…"

"What?"

"Nevermind. It's nothing."

What a coward. I mean, for Christ sakes, they were best friends. He owes it to her to let her in on the fact that Nadeshiko's really a guy. Or whatever Fujisaki-kun is.

That was when Rhythm appeared.

"Whoa. Not cool, man. Why didn't you tell me you were going to a party?" He asked.

"Because," Fujisaki growled, "It's not really a _party_. It's just a sleepover that got crashed. Not only that, why the hell would I tell _you_? You're just a nuisance."

"Someone sounds bitter." Amu said.

"Yeah, Nagi. You should be nicer to your chara." Yaya chimed in.

"_Yeah,_ Nagi. Be nicer to your chara." Rhythm repeated.

Fujisaki-kun scoffed and turned his back to the aforementioned chara.

And because Rhythm was within five feet, of course Kusukusu (being the idiot she is) appeared, as well. Does she have some sort of vendetta against my sanity that she hasn't told me about?

"KYAAAAHHHHHHHHHH!" She squealed.

"What's up, K?"

"K?" Kusukusu asked.

"You know. Short for Kusukusu. I thought it'd be a cute nickname." Rhythm replied.

"Slow your roll, player. She wants nothing to do with you." I quickly intervened.

"Are you kidding me?" Kusukusu asked in disbelief. "Of course I-"

"We do not associate with the enemy's chara. Got that?"

"So you really hate me that much?" Fujisaki-kun asked.

"I don't even know how I feel about you at this point. After tonight, I'm so confused. All I know is that I don't approve of shameless gigolos, so I'm not allowing Kusukuu to talk to Rhythm."

"It's not his fault he's like that. "

"I know. He gets it from you." I hissed. "Which brings me back to _I don't approve of shameless gigolos._"

As if the room wasn't crowded enough as it was, Utau's charas made an appearance.

"Ohohohohoho! This is why I like you Rima: you know how to tear people apart." Iru cackled.

"Your words don't match." Eru told me.

"What the hell are you talking about?" I asked, knowing I'd regret it.

"I can smell the delicious fragrance of first love!" She cheered.

Fujisaki stared at me and I could feel my skin get hotter; knowing that my face was undeniably as red as a tomato. "LOVE? You're fucking kidding. That's ridiculous!"

"Ah-ah-ah." Eru said in sing-song voice, wagging her finger at me as if I were a child. "The Love Angel always knows!"

Who the hell does she think she is? She's not the Love Angel; she's an annoying little cherub who knows absolutely nothing about matters of the heart. There is nothing in this world that will ever convince me that love exists. If love doesn't exist, there's not such thing as the Love Angel. It's all fairy-tales designed to numb the mind. I'm smarter than that; I won't let an imaginary emotion overpower me. Fujisaki-kun is the most repulsive, obnoxious, bizarre human being I've ever met, and that's the way it is. I'd never fall for a spoiled rotten, gender-confused rich boy.

"I can't imagine someone like her being in love." Fujisaki said, trying to avert the subject. At least _he_ knows that the idea of me being in love with him is completely absurd.

"She doesn't even believe in love." Amu explained.

"She will soon enough! Hohohohohoho~" The angelic chara replied.

"Utau." I said flatly.

"What?" She asked.

"I need another cigarette."

**Hello everyone…. *avoids rocks being thrown at me***

**Owwwww! Ok, let me explain my absence. I've, unfortunately, had a lot going on for the past few months :[ **

**I had my 15****th**** birthday, my parents' divorce was finalized, my best friend's controlling ex-boyfriend wouldn't leave her alone, and another friend of mine got pregnant. Let's just say I haven't had the time or motivation for writing. I've had to deal with some personal problems of my own and help my friends with theirs. I'm also working on an actual novel (I actually can write quite well when I try hard), so whenever I did have the time for writing I was usually working on that. I'm really sorry :[ I'll try to get to work on the next chapter ASAP! I feel really bad whenever my fanfiction's pushed to the backburner for so long. But, if you stuck around all this time: THANK YOU! *glomps* ^_^ **

**Also, important note: I do NOT condone or endorse smoking. I think it's an awful habit. If you smoke, I'm not judging you because I'm sure you're fully aware of the health problems it can cause. But for those of you who don't smoke now, never do it. I don't need you to start smoking and then tell your parents: "JellyBeanHeiress told me to do it!" NO! Haha :D I'm far more innocent in real life than this story would suggest. I'm a virgin, I've never drank alcohol, I've never smoked, I've never done drugs. I've never had a boyfriend either but that's not as much a personal choice as it is just because of the fact that I'm ugly as hell -_-**

**Anyways, I'm going to start on the next chapter as soon as this is posted. Please forgive the sucky quality of this chapter and bear with me :/ I'm just trying to push it along so I can get to some ideas I had. **

**Those of you who stuck around, I love you guys! **

**Please review :)**


	7. Honesty

**Nagihiko's POV**

I quietly observed as Rima lit another cigarette. I never saw her as the type of girl who smokes… I really don't know anything about her, do I? And what Eru said; Rima would never be in love with me, right? Nah. What a stupid thought. She loathes me. But, still… how many judgments about her have I made that are completely off base?

That was when I saw her laptop on the floor. Maybe it would be useful; I did want to know more about her…

"Hey, Rima, can I use your laptop?" I asked.

"Why?" She glared, blowing smoke in my face.

"Um… research. I signed up for a summer assignment at the end of last year and I completely forgot. I have to have it done by tomorrow." I lied through my teeth.

"Normally I'd say hell no, but if it shuts you up go ahead." She replied. "Just let me do something with it quick."

After a minute or so of doing God-knows-what, she handed the laptop to me.

I turned on her laptop and couldn't help but feel a sense of espionage. On the screen she still had multiple items open. A word document, a webpage, instant messenger…

It was then that I realized the word document was marked by a date. This couldn't be… Rima keeps a diary on her computer? Why would she be so careless as to leave the file open?

It was almost too good to be true.

_Dear diary,_

_ So today was my first day at Seiyo Academy for Academically Advanced Students. It took about three hours to get here from Akihabara, but I've waited so long for this. Amu's mom drove her, Utau, and I up here and we were all practically dying from anxiety. That's when things became completely shitty. So, all of a sudden I hear all of these squeals. What do I see when I turn around? Surely it was some kind of disaster; a fire or something, right? Nope. Just a group of boys, including Utau's brother. Anyways, so they were all in a line as though they practiced their entrance. I didn't really give a damn, until I saw the last boy. Tall, with long violet-bluish hair... I swear to God my heart stopped. He was so hot! Too bad he turned out to be an absolute asshole. Then he died in a nuclear explosion after being castrated by a raging stampede of giant mutant rainbow kangaroos from Lithuania. _

_P.S. Nice try, Fujisaki. Did you think I'd seriously leave my diary on my computer where it would be so easy to find? Also, NO; I don't really think you're hot… not that you're ugly or anything… you know what? Fuck this! Just stop reading, you creep. _

So it was too good to be true. I figured.

"So you wasted your time setting something like that up?" I asked.

"Yup." She replied, not looking up from a manga she was reading.

"No life, much?" I jeered, lacking the creativity to come up something more clever.

"Fuck you. Hard."

"You'd like that."

"Maybe I would."

… How am I supposed to respond to respond to that?

"Uh…" I mindlessly uttered.

"Just kidding." She said flatly, still not looking up.

"You're acting kind of suspicious, Ri- I mean, Mashiro-san." I said. "What's up with you?"

"Learn to take a joke."

"Get a better sense of humor."

"You're one to talk, dance boy."

"At least I'm not in love with someone way out of my league." I teased.

"I'M NOT IN LOVE WITH YOU!" She hissed, finally making eye-contact. "I SWEAR TO GOD I'LL RIP OUT YOUR THROAT, TIE IT IN A KNOT, AND SEND IT TO TIMBUKTU WITH YOUR DISEMBODIED LIMBS!"

"You're so violent." I commented, amused. "Besides, even if you were in love with me, I'd never fall in love with somebody middle class."

I knew the very second those words came out of my mouth that I'd gone way too far; and I didn't even mean what I said. I just seem to make things so much worse for myself.

"Here's a newsflash, rich boy: most _middle class_ people think that _high class_ people are pompous assholes, anyways. Obviously with good reason. You think I'm not good enough for you? Do you? The fact that your mom and dad have money isn't worth shit. They must've bribed the principal to get you into this school because, clearly, you're a dumbass!" She said with a fire in her eyes of pure, raw, unconcentrated fury.

"I'm sorry. That went too far."

"Just stop talking to me. I'm sick of all the fucking bullshit that you say. Kill your enormous ego immediately, because quite frankly, nobody else is going to deal with your arrogance."

"What does it matter? You hate me anyways. Nothing would change that. I could be the nicest person in the world and you'd absolutely abhor me, and do you know why? Because you can't handle the fact that there's a boy within a mile of you who isn't on their knees kissing the ground you walk on. And you have the audacity to say that _I _have an ego problem? Get over yourself, Mashiro-san, and stop being so _conceited._" I replied.

"Oh, really? If you don't care about me, stop playing the good guy. Someone might mistake it as a _blatantly obvious, pathetic attempt to try to impress me_." She spat, each word drenched in venom.

"God forbid anyone does you any favors. It clearly means they're hitting on you."

"Rot in a pit, Fujisaki. It'll be a nice change of pace from being in the closet."

What a bitch. Why do I waste my energy on her?

Oh, yeah. Because I kind of like that bitch. God must have a twisted sense of humor, and the joke is on me.

"Will you two just make out already?" Amu said. "There's so much sexual tension I could barf."

**Rima's POV**

Sick! How could Amu say something so sick? Well, it's been decided: I hate Fujisaki. As if he wouldn't jump at the chance to be with me! Wow, I _am_ conceited… but he's even more so! He acts like the fact that he was born with a silver spoon in his mouth makes him a big-shot. God damn fucking rich manwhore. How dare he talk down to me?

"Don't be ridiculous, Amu." I said. "By the way, if you only met Fujisaki once before today, I'm curious as to what the circumstances were."

"I thought you wanted me to rot in a pit. Why are you so curious?" The egomaniacal bastard cut in.

"Because I'm wondering how she somehow managed to remember someone as insignificant as you." I replied.

"Quit it." Amu said. "Do you really want to know, or are you just trying to start trouble?"

"Me? Start trouble? Never."

"Fine. It was in fifth grade, so about a few months before you transferred to Seiyo Elementary. I was having some problems with Ikuto-" **(Some parts of this story are partially made up, some parts are from the manga/anime.)**

"Hold up! You already knew Ikuto? I thought you didn't meet Utau until we were friends? How did you already know her brother?"

"That's true. I didn't even know Ikuto had a sister, but he practically stalked me so I've known him since I was in fifth grade."

Ikuto grimaced, but Amu ignored it.

"Ok. Now continue with the story." I said.

"Anyways, so I went to visit Nadeshiko, but I couldn't find her. That's when I heard this voice out of nowhere say 'Welcome, Amu-chan.'"

"Continue."

"So, I turned around and I saw this person: I thought the person was Nadeshiko at first, but he was wearing boys' clothing. He told me he was Nadeshiko's twin brother, and introduced himself as Nagihiko. I have to admit, he was quite the smooth-talker, even back then…"

"You can leave that part out, Amu-chan." Fujisaki said, embarrassed.

"So you've always been a womanizing prick. Nice to know." I scoffed.

Amu's face showed her impatience. "Do you want to hear the story or not?"

"Sorry." I said.

` "So, anyways, he grabbed my hand and we went on a walk. It was then that he told me we were going to the Love Temple."

"Love Temple?" I asked, wondering why I was becoming… angry.

"It was completely innocent, I swear. We were still walking there, and there are some things that I forget about our conversation, but I remember one thing really clearly; he was still holding my hand. I was getting kind of embarrassed, so I said 'You're still holding my hand', and he replied 'Oh yeah… things are different today'. I never forgot that, because I never realized what he meant."

"Yeah, Fujisaki. What could you possibly have meant?" I asked, knowing all-too well the meaning.

"Uh…W-what I meant was…"

"_U-uh u-uh." _I mocked him. "Is there something you'd like to say?"

Suddenly he glared at me, and I could tell he'd had enough. "As a matter of fact, yes."

I smirked, both amused and doubtful. "Then out with it."

He turned to Amu and, almost surreally, came ocut the words that seemed uncharacteristicly brave for him to say. "Amu, I should've told you this a long time ago… I haven't been completely honest with you. The reason I seemed so much like Nadeshiko, and the reason things were different that day… is because Nadeshiko and I are one and the same."

Amu and Yaya both seemed lost in another world, without a doubt flooded by emotions that they didn't quite sort out yet. The look on Fujisaki's face showed his instant regret in confessing his secret. The looks on Yua and Lulu's faces seemed to express nothing more than "what the fuck?" and, as for me, the cause of his confession, my smirk faded.

The ONE secret that I held over him was now gone. But how could I have known he'd finally grow a pair and tell Amu he was Nadeshiko?

Finally, after a few moments, the tears came from Yaya and Amu.

"How could you not have told me? I missed you so much, and your absence hurt me so much more than you realized. Nagi, you were in Japan all this time? Why didn't you call me? And worst of all, why did you lie to me all this time? I was led to believe that Nadeshiko was my best friend, and it turns my best friend is nothing but make-believe!" Amu cried.

"Amu, this is why he couldn't tell you… because this is how you'd react..." Utau said, coming to his defense.

"And _you!_ After all the times I've said how much I missed 'Nadeshiko', you didn't tell me that we were never more than an hour apart?" She bawled.

"Are you happy now, Rima?" Fujisaki turned to me. "I've been thoroughly humiliated and I've lost a best friend, so are you ready to stop being a bitch to me?"

"For the last fucking time, it's _Mashiro_ to you! Why are you getting pissed at me? I'm not the one who lied to her. I'm not the one who abandoned her. You brought this on yourself!"

"Because one day I just woke up and wondered '_Hmm. I wonder what I'll do today. Should I be a normal boy? Or crossdress, create an alter ego, and deceive those close to me? While I'm at it, I think I'll leave the country and hurt my friends_.' Yup, I did that for kicks. Ten points for every letter they write to me."

"Don't be a smartass! You're a sick, twisted tranny who befriended innocent girls to feed your perversions."

"What person would choose this life, Rima? And before you say it, NO; I will _not_ call you 'Mashiro'. Do you not understand how much it tore me apart to never be normal? When other boys my age would go out and play basketball, do you know what I had to do? I had to play with dolls. All of my friendships were with girls because _I wasn't allowed_ to befriend boys. But not for one moment did I ever fake any of those friendships. I care so much for Amu and Yaya, almost like they're my sisters."

"Then why didn't you tell Amu that you returned?"

"It's… a selfish reason."

"That's not what I asked."

"There are parts of my old life I'd have to leave behind if I would ever grow into a man. Those parts of my life included Amu and Yaya, because I just couldn't tell them who I really was. I figured that after enough time had passed, they would forget me and there would be no reason to hurt them. I realized it was foolish a long time ago, but by then I was in too deep with this plan and Utau assured me that everything was going well with them. She even told me about you, Rima."

"And what did she say?"

"She told me that you kept them from growing apart; you kept them whole. I was so grateful for that. But now I realize they would've been much better off that way than being stuck with someone like you!"

Those few sentences stung the most. What I was feeling; it couldn't be pain, could it? He couldn't hurt me so badly, right? Am I truly so horrible, and was he really as close to them as he was leading me to believe?

"If I am horrible because I can comprehend truth, then so be it. You don't know the meaning of honesty, so how am I supposed to believe a word you say?"

Just as suddenly as I'd spoken, he grabbed my waist and pulled me closer to him. His lips pressed against mine and I somehow had forgotten to breathe.

I was too shocked to even get the nerve to slap him across the face, as I knew I should have.

He pulled away and said, "Is that honest enough for you? Now it's your turn to tell the truth: why do you hate me so much?"

"I-I… W-what…"

Why can't I form sentences? Verbal skills, work dammit!

"I'm waiting." Fujisaki said.

"I don't hate you, I'm attracted to you and it scares me because I don't want to fall victim to a stupid playboy. I don't _like_ you, so don't be confused; I just don't hate you. There. Honesty. Disgusting honesty. But I believe it's your turn again, Mr. I'll-Put-On-A-Good-Guy-Act-But-It's-Totally-Not-To-Impress-Rima."

"…Why do you assume it's an act?"

"That's what I thought. Even now, you can't be honest."

**Hey. Um… yeah, really short chapter :P Sorry. But at least it's a quicker update, right? Sorry this is kind of a filler chappie, but at least the plot is advancing (random reviewer: **_**"GTFO. This actually has a PLOT?**_**"). I was really debating about how things would go at the end of this, but I'd like to clear something up: they are NOT confessing. Don't think I'd rush that too quickly ;] No, anything official like that won't be for a while. Rima just sort of admitted that she's attracted to him, and I'd like to say that there is a big difference between being attracted to somebody and liking them. Anyways, I have a bit of writer's block… so if you have any ideas, please leave them in the reviews :3 There's no such thing as a bad suggestion (Um… unless they involve bodily harm). I'm in the best mood I've had in months, so I've been working on updating faster since I have a little more motivation. I might be a little delayed by a day or so for the next chappie because I'm going to Colossalcon this weekend :3 Bwahaha **

** I love you guys! Thanks for the support. I was surprised by the interest some people showed when I mentioned I was writing a novel :O I…I really appreciate that. The writing you see in this fanfiction isn't close to my potential because it's something silly and fun I do in my spare time; and the fact that, even reading this, you weren't appalled by the fact that I wanted to become an author… that makes me feel so happy! *huggles* By the way, I've added my Skype username and some links to my Facebook and YouTube account on my profile... so, if you want to, you can check them out :P (*shameless self-promotion*)**

** Please review ^_^**


	8. Morals

**Rima's POV**

The room was quiet as everybody wondered what would happen next. Why did he kiss me? Not that I'm complaining. It was my first kiss, so I have nothing to compare it to… but I'd say he's a good kisser.

"I'm not a mind reader, Fujisaki. You have to speak if you have something to say." I said.

"I noticed that you keep calling me 'Fujisaki'. Why?" He asked.

"I'm distancing myself. We've only known each other since this morning, you know."

"Feels like eternity." He grumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"That's what I thought."

"You've made today so _pleasant, _why would I ever complain?" Fujisaki jeered.

"What's with the sarcasm? You kissed me and I didn't kill you; after that, I'd say the fact that you'll live to see tomorrow makes today a success." I replied.

He rolled his eyes at me and turned to Amu, who looked oh-so-painfully as though there was something she needed to say.

"Nagi, is it really true… that you're Nadeshiko?" She asked.

His expression sobered and he nodded once.

"After all this time…there's so much I need to say…" Amu began. "But, I can't bring myself to talk to _you_ about it. I need to talk to Nadeshiko."

Fujisaki cleared his throat and held his hair in a ponytail.

"Amu-chan, please don't be mad. I'm still me, either way." He said, speaking with his sickeningly convincing girl voice.

Tears streamed from her eyes. "How could you do this to me? I trusted you. I thought you were my best friend; were you scared that I wouldn't accept you? Boy or girl, I loved you so much and I told you _everything_. It hurts me that you couldn't be honest."

"It hurt me to have to hide it, but it was best for you. You needed a girl to talk to, not some boy who may or may not have had feelings for you."

"You mean you-"

"Maybe, but it's in the past. Believe me. The point is: you needed _Nadeshiko_, not me."

So, Fujisaki used to have feelings for Amu. Why did that thought make my stomach uneasy?

"There were so many times I needed you, no matter which form you took; but you weren't there for me. That breaks my heart. Am I not important enough to you?"

"That's not it at all, Amu-chan. You're practically my sister, and I never forgot you. But I trusted that you had other people to look out for you, and I knew you'd be OK."

I'd had enough of this disgusting display. "Quit it already! Go get a room if you two are going to be so mushy. You're making me sick!"

"Shut the hell up, Rima! You knew about this, too, didn't you?" Amu roared.

I'd never been yelled at by Amu before. Never.

"Amu." I whispered. "I promised him I wouldn't tell. It's only fair, since he saved me."

"Well, guess what? He wasn't the only one rushing out to save your stupid butt, Mashiro-san! Who's your loyalty to, anyway? Me or him?"

I was torn apart even more knowing that my best friend was calling me by my last name; with an honorific, nonetheless.

"I owed him. You can't blame me for attempting to repay a debt."

"Answer me!"

"You know I've always been by your side, and you know you're my best friend. Even back when we first met and I hated you, I still had respect for you."

"And now I'm just nothing to you, right? You know what; I'm _glad _you don't believe in love, because somebody like you doesn't deserve it."

By then I was so pissed and stressed out that it was enough to push me over the edge. How much pain would I have to endure?

"Amu, you'll pay for that!" I yelled.

"Bring it, shorty!"

"Kusukusu." I whispered.

"Ran!" Amu yelled in contrast.

"My heart: UNLOCK!"

"My heart: UNLOCK!"

"Character Transformation: Clown Drop!"

"Character Transformation: Amulet Heart!"

I was dressed in true circus fashion, a pink clown dress with white tights and red boots; a giant red bow in my hair.

"S-so cute." The boys in the room commented; all except Fujisaki.

"Don't fight. You two are best friends!" He pled, speaking in his normal voice.

"We _were_ best friends." Amu corrected. "But if I can't trust her, then I suppose it's over, isn't it?"

"Just learn to shut your mouth, Hinamori!" I cried, and I felt as though my chest had been stabbed; it was agonizing to treat her like my enemy. "Tightrope Dancer!"

From my hands shot out ropes that tied around unprepared Amu's wrists and ankles, leaving her helpless. To think that I could hurt her so easily… to think she was at my disposal.

"Well, finish it off then if you're so willing!" She yelled.

"Are you not going to fight?"

"I want to see if you're as strong as you think you are."

_Rima, do you really want to do this?_ Kusukusu asked from inside of me.

"I don't have a choice." I whimpered. "Juggling Party!"

And in an instant, Amu freed herself from the ropes. "Spiral Heart!" She yelled, twirling a baton and deflecting my attack; sending the bowling pins heading in her direction back to me. Straight towards my face.

I closed my eyes to brace for impact, but I never felt any pain. I opened my eyes once more to see what possibly could have happened, and all I saw was Fujisaki kneeling in front of me.

Over his chest he crossed his arms and he was bent at the waist. I knew immediately that he had been hurt.

"That's enough." He choked out. "Both of you."

"Why… would you do that?" I asked him, my mouth agape.

He didn't reply, and instead he attempted to stand up.

"Nagi, I'm really sorry." Amu said. "It was meant for Mashiro, not you."

"It's my fault that she didn't tell you. So be mad at me, not her."

"Nagi-kun~" She whined dotingly. "Why would you lie to me? And why would you make her lie, too?"

"Stop acting like such a tramp!" I yelled. "Handle yourself with some dignity! Or do you want to get screwed over again like what happened with Ikuto?"

"Why don't you stop being so jealous and bitter?" She retaliated. "Just light another one of your damn cigarettes and burn yourself with it."

"JEALOUS?" I screamed.

"Amu-chi, why are you being so mean to Rima-tan?" Yaya yelled. "I'm confused and devastated by everything going on, too, but really… this is too much!"

"Right now," Amu began, "this is about so much more than the secret."

"I understand." I told her. "But if it's really that kind of battle, then you clearly are misinformed. I'm not your opponent; not in the least. And you aren't really interested in the prize; you just want a chance to boast a victory against me."

"You gave up so easily because you know he'd never love you."

I paused for a moment. "Why would he, when love doesn't exist? But why even pretend like you have feelings for Fujisaki when you clearly don't? Winning him over is no challenge for me; it's like you're not even trying. I could get any boy I wanted just by batting my eyes, and that won't ever change. Deal with it."

"I hate you sometimes, Rima." She whispered. "Everything you said is true, and I resent you for it. Almost everything, I should say. You're still just as wrong as ever about the existence of love."

"It looks to me like you two need to grow up." Fujisaki said as he angrily made his exit, slamming the door behind him.

Like a fool, I felt the impulse to follow him.

"Fujisaki!" I yelled.

"What do you want?" He asked, not turning around.

"I just don't want you to be angry."

"I'm not angry, I'm just so frustrated. I don't appreciate being viewed as a prize, even if it's not serious. Next thing you know, I'll be a pawn in some sort of bet."

He had no clue just how on-the-mark that was.

"…. Don't be ridiculous. Now, can you turn around so I don't have to talk to the back of your head?" I replied.

He turned to me and, even in the dim light of the hallway, I could see him smiling.

"Now that you're facing me, can I ask you something?" I asked him.

"You just did."

"That's not what I meant, smart one."

"Ok, fine. What do you want to ask?"

"Well, it's embarrassing, but things like this must be dealt with immediately; especially between roommates… Do you like me?"

"We've already discussed this. Remember: you ended up getting all pissed at me because I said you were conceited and not every boy will like you-"

"I want an honest answer."

"If you don't believe in love, or 'liking' someone, then surely you already know that the answer is no. Do I think you're beautiful? Yes. Do I like being around you? Yes. However, if you're lying to yourself and deep down you do believe in love and romance and all of that mushy stuff…. Well, you can draw your own conclusions. Does that answer your question, Mashiro-san?"

"I thought you refused to call me 'Mashiro-san'." I said, hoping he wouldn't notice that I was blushing.

"If it's what you want me to call you, then who am I to refuse?"

"It's….It's OK if you call me Rima."

Now he was the one blushing. "Alright, Rima-chan."

"Can I ask another question?"

"Go for it."

"Why did you protect me? Not only from those two brutes from earlier, but from the attack in the dorm room."

"Because it would be a shame for such a pretty face to go to waste."

"I really don't like it when people comment on my looks."

"Why?"

"I feels like that's all there is to me; that my looks are all that people see. It's never 'Rima, you're so smart' or 'Rima you're so funny', or even 'Rima, you're such a good friend'. It's always 'Rima, you're so cute' or 'pretty' or 'beautiful'.I hate it. That's why I like comedy; because when I make a silly face or I'm acting ridiculous, nobody is focusing on how 'pretty' I may or may not be. You know, I can't even be humble and deny it because there's no point. I _am_ pretty and it's a really annoying part of my life."

"Do you expect people to sympathize with you for being pretty? What do you want them to say: 'Oh, sorry. I wish you were ugly' or something like that?"

"No. I just wish they'd see me as something more than eye candy."

"Well, your personality doesn't exactly work in your favor."

"I know I can be kind of harsh, but it's just a protective instinct… a reflex."

"You need to learn that not all people are out to hurt you."

"What about you?"

"What _about_ me?"

"Are you planning to hurt me?"

"Never."

"Why? I've been nothing but mean to you; aren't you even a little hostile towards me for it?"

"No, because I know it can't be helped. I guess I'm just not a likable person."

I shook my head. "No, the problem is you're _too_ likable. You're perfect and it makes me so mad that I somehow think of a reason to make you a villain, even if you're not."

"Oh, yes. I have identity issues and no control over my future; I'd say that's completely perfect." He replied sarcastically.

"What do you mean you have no control over your future?"

"You know that I'm an heir. When I'm old enough, I must take over Fujisaki Dance Academy. It's inevitable. I'll serve as the headmaster and top instructor until the time comes when I have a son and he's old enough to take over. It's a cycle that never ends, and it's been that way for almost two centuries."

"And I'm guessing that when you _do_ have a son…."

"He'll, uh, carry on another tradition."

"So you'll make him live as a girl?"

"Just when he's a child."

"How cruel!"

"It's tradition."

"What if you have a daughter?"

"I don't know. But I'll tell you this: in more than eight generations, no girl has been born into the Fujisaki family."

"That doesn't make it impossible."

"True. Not impossible, just unlikely. Hey, why are you still character transformed?" He asked.

"I don't know. I just never got around to transforming back to normal." I explained.

"So you were telling the truth when you said you love comedy."

"I'm many things, but I'm not a liar. That's _your_ specialty."

"Hey, be nice. I don't lie all the time."

"No, just most of the time."

"You know, you're not always honest, either."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't tell me you're serious about not believing in love."

I stopped dead in my tracks and thought for a moment. It took me a second to respond.

"My parents fought and fought for years before they finally divorced… I don't remember the last time they were happy or the last time I felt like all of us were a family. I've never been in love, I've never witnessed love… my parents weren't even in love. If I can't see it, feel it, or detect it: then it can't exist, right? All human emotions are chemical reactions in the brain, and 'love' is no exception. It's all pheromones and species preservation that's been put into play by evolution. There's a reason why couples say they 'have chemistry'; because that's exactly what it is. Love, at least in the way most people imagine it, does not exist."

"Your parents must've screwed you up a lot, didn't they? To fight so much that they made you view love as a myth entirely…"

"It's not their fault! It's just a fact that love is nothing more than a fantasy people like to pass off as reality so that they can somehow differentiate themselves from how animals mate."

"Rima, be reasonable-"

"I _am_ being reasonable, you're just not listening!"

"I give up. There's no point trying to talk sense into you."

I laughed. "Have you just now realized that?"

"You should laugh more." Fujisaki said seriously.

I froze. "Laughter is stupid. I shouldn't have done that."

"To you, love doesn't exist and laughter's just nonsense. So, basically, you've deprived yourself of the things that make life worth living. How sad of a person are you?"

"I don't waste time on stupid things. I'm not depressed, if that's what you're implying."

"_Of course_ you're not depressed, because you've rendered yourself incapable of feeling _anything_. You're like some emotionless robot."

"T-that's not true!"

"It's brutally true, Rima-chan."

"What makes you think you're so right? Don't be arrogant!"

"Will you stop saying that about me? I'm not arrogant. My male ego gets in the way sometimes, is all. In case you've forgotten, I _am_ a man."

"I'm well aware that you possess a Y-chromosome, but you're fifteen, kiddo. Don't get ahead of yourself with that 'man' business."

"Don't call me kiddo."

"I'll call you kiddo if I want to. I'm probably older than you."

"We'll see about that. We were born in the same year, so… what's your birthday?"

"February 6. Yours?"

"…July 4."

"HA! In your face, _kiddo._"

"Ok, you're five months older. Big deal! You're still the size of an elementary student."

"I. Am. Fun-size! Respect your elders!"

"I'm just kidding. Your height is actually kind of endearing."

"There you go again, saying embarrassing things…" I whispered.

"You don't take compliments well." He chuckled.

Fujisaki grabbed my hand as we walked down the hall and asked, "Do you want to head back to Amu's dorm?"

"I don't know." I replied, looking in the opposite direction to hide my red face. "I'm kind of mad at her."

"Ok. So, you wanna go back to our dorm? It's getting kind of late. Besides, back in Amu's dorm with those girls and the rest of the guys in my group… I hate to say it, but it's probably turned into a makeout party by now."

"In that case…" I whispered.

I stood on my tippy-toes and kissed his cheek. "Consider that a small party favor."

Wait- WHAT THE HELL? Why did I do that?

He blushed slightly and smiled. "So, what exactly are we now? Rivals? Friends?"

"Rivals." I replied immediately. "Rivals who happen to find each other attractive. Which is _completely_ different from anything romantic."

Fujisaki rolled his eyes. "Whatever you say. I learned a long time ago that there's no point arguing with an irrational girl. Besides, it wouldn't matter anyway if we did 'like' each other."

It pained me to admit it to myself, but that made me curious. "Why not?"

"Because I'm doomed to an arranged marriage." He groaned. "Any relationships I have now are just for fun. Nothing can ever come of them."

An arranged marriage? I don't believe in love, so I can't whole-heartedly say I support "marrying for love", but not being able to choose your spouse… that was something that seemed so alien to me. Do his parents think he'll somehow embarrass the family if he's allowed to choose somebody he wants to marry? Normal girls aren't good enough? I don't care how wealthy the Fujisakis are, that is bringing elitism to an entirely new level.

"So, nothing can ever come out of a relationship with you?" I asked. "Good to know."

"Rima-"

"No, don't try to make it sound like anything other than what it really is: you go messing around with girls even though you go into it _knowing_ it'll never develop into anything."

"That's why I'm a playboy. There are no expectations attached. The girls know it, too; it's just casual and fun. It's not like I sleep with them."

"God forbid you _have_ _sex_ with the girls you're manipulating. That wouldn't be ethical."

"Are you implying something?"

"Yeah, that you're a massive idiot. If you're going to be a tool, you might as well be good at it. You manipulate girls into meaningless flings, but you don't screw them? What if I said I wanted to have sex with you; would you say no?"

"I don't manipulate anybody! And, as for that last question, it depends: _do you_ want to have sex with me?"

"Hypothetically speaking, what if I told you yes? What would you say? Remember, it's all hypothetical."

"Well, as long as it's hypothetical… No."

"You wouldn't even be tempted?"

"Oh, hell yeah I'd be tempted. But I'd still say no, because as much as I think you're beautiful, and as much as I'm intrigued by you… I don't love you. Love is the only condition, and no girl has ever met that requirement. It's not worth the hassle anyways, as I told you already; I make it a point not to truly fall for girls. Not while knowing nothing could ever become of it."

"If you're waiting to fall in love, you're going to die as a virgin."

I heard a chime from my cell phone and saw that I had a text message from Yaya.

**Yuiki Yaya **

_Rima-tan, where'd you go? You and Nagi-kun have been gone an awfully long time… Don't tell me you've won the bet already :O_

**Mashiro Rima**

_No, you dirty-minded child. _

**Yuiki Yaya**

_Eh? Dirty-minded? I-I'm not! Well, then where are you?_

**Mashiro Rima**

_I'm with Fujisaki, walking around the halls. We're just talking about stuff. Do you think I'm so easy that I'd have sex with him on the first day?_

**Yuiki Yaya**

_Not at all! I don't think you're like that, believe me. I've probably done more things with boys than you have._

**Mashiro Rima**

_WHAT? You're kidding._

**Yuiki Yaya**

_I wish I was. I mean, I've never had actual sex but… Never mind! That's not the point. Are you and Nagi coming back?_

**Mashiro Rima**

_I guess there's no choice. I mean, if being alone with him for this long is already starting to become suspicious, I can't go back to my dorm with him. So, what's everybody doing?_

**Yuiki Yaya**

_Well Utau's making out with Kukai, Amu's staring at Ikuto and Tadase, Lulu and Yua are talking about menstrual cramps… and Kairi and I are just sitting here quietly while the awkwardness slowly kills us. _

**Mashiro Rima**

_LMAO! Oh god, I can't believe I'm missing that. Stay strong, Yaya. _

**Yuiki Yaya**

_I actually kind of like Kairi…but he's younger than me and he's so serious. I don't think he'd be interested. _

**Mashiro Rima**

_Aw. Get some~ _

**Yuiki Yaya**

_RIMA-TAN! JUST BECAUSE YOU HAD THE ROMANCE SUCKED OUT OF YOU DOESN'T MEAN YOU NEED TO TRANSLATE "LIKE" INTO "LUST"!_

**Mashiro Rima**

_I'm kidding. If you're attracted to him, go for it. But remember that he's a playboy; don't be fooled by him. _

**Yuiki Yaya**

_So embarrassing! . _

**Mashiro Rima**

_You're a cute girl and he's a handsome boy… I mean, the odds were that there would be some sort of attraction._

**Yuiki Yaya**

_The same could be said about you and Nagi…_

**Mashiro Rima**

_We find each other attractive, both of us have admitted it, but there is NOTHING going on. It's completely different! I'm not going to give you advice anymore!_

**Yuiki Yaya**

_Nothing going on at all…except for the fact that, before even getting to know him, you accepted a bet that you had to lose your virginity to him. That says a lot. But, if you're being honest, and there really isn't anything going on between you two… you might want to change that or you'll lose the bet. _

**Mashiro Rima**

_I'm working on it -_-_

I turned off my phone and turned to Fujisaki. "We're going back to Amu's dorm."

"We?" He repeated what I said, a satisfied smile spread across his face. "I like the sound of that."

"Yeah, of course you do. Now just shut up and follow me." I growled impatiently, walking back to Amu's dorm as he trailed behind me.

"Sooooo foorrrccceeefullll~" He cried adoringly.

"Don't turn into a stupid fanboy. It doesn't suit you." I spat.

He smirked, and I realized it had been an act. "And that attitude of yours doesn't suit you."

"Remind me why I associate with you?"

"I haven't the slightest idea."

My muscles tensed to reach for his hand, but just then I realized that I was already holding it. It seemed so… natural.

"You know, the school open house is this Friday, and there's supposed to be a dance…" I started to say.

"Yeah, what about it?" Fujisaki asked.

"Well, I was just going to say that maybe if you wanted to meet my parents properly or, I don't know, go to the dance together…that would be OK."

A mischievous grin lit his face and I knew he was going to tease me. "Going on a date and meeting the parents… we're like a couple."

"You know what, forget it! I shouldn't have said anything. I knew you'd give me crap for it!" I yelled stubbornly.

"So, is the offer void?"

"Depends; will you quit teasing me?"

"Yes."

"Ok, then, I guess it's still a valid offer."

"In that case, I'd be honored. But, why?"

"Because if my parents would meet you properly, maybe they'd be more comfortable about letting me stay here. They've only seen 'Nadeshiko.' As far as my mom and dad are concerned, you're a random boy they've never met who's shacking up with their daughter. So, you think that when my parents show up for the open house you could put on a goody two-shoes act and smooth-talk them for a while?"

"Ok, that sounds reasonable. But, why do you want me to go to the dance with you?"

I smiled. "Isn't it obvious? You're a professional dancer; it would be hard for me to make a fool of myself on the dancefloor if you were my partner."

"How disappointing."

"I knew you li-"

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"You almost said 'I knew you _liked_ me', didn't you?" Fujisaki said, smirking.

"My mistake. It's natural speech. I hear stuff like that so often that it slips out sometimes; plus, it's easier to say that than the correct scientific way of explaining such emotions." I muttered, embarrassed at correcting myself.

"Ok, how would you explain it then?"

"I don't know, OK? I've never had to deal with stuff like this…"

"You mean _liking_ someone, and hoping they like you back?"

I berated him with as much intensity as my soft voice would allow. "Don't you EVER say such disgusting things again! You're an idiot! I do NOT like you, nor do I care if you like me. I… I don't know what exactly it is that I'm feeling, but be assured that I would never fall for somebody like you. I'm never going to fall for anybody, because for the last time: LOVE AND OTHER FICTITIOUS ROMANTIC EMOTIONS DO NOT EXIST."

He glared. "If you're going to keep lying to yourself, go ahead; because I don't like you either."

"Good, because I'm out of your league!"

"HA! You really should be a comedian; that's the best joke I've ever heard."

"Just like your heterosexuality." I jeered.

"Or your parents' relationship." He replied.

That killed me inside… just a little.

"You're the biggest jerk I've ever met." I whispered, my eyes watering.

"I went too far again, didn't I?"

"You know… I'm not even sure if I mean half of the mean things I say to you. But you… you say things that hurt so badly."

"You're the one who always goes begging for an argument. You always insult me."

"Why don't you fight me then? _That _would be less painful!" I yelled.

"I'd never hit a girl. There's absolutely no excuse for that." He replied calmly.

"Well, my dad didn't have those morals. You understand?" I said, partly ashamed.

His eyes grew wide and he hugged me. "I'm so sorry, Rima-chan. I had no idea. Your poor mom…"

"That," I began, "is why it isn't funny to say things about my parents."

"No child should have to see their parents like that… it's traumatizing."

"The funny thing is, my mom always seemed so strong. She never showed pain, and she wasn't scared. But one day she snapped and decided she'd had enough, and the day she told me that they were getting a divorce… I didn't know what to feel. I was relieved for my mom, but I still cared about my dad."

"It's OK that you care about your dad. But you understand that your mother's well-being was at risk, right? That's why it had to be this way."

"I know, I know. It's for the best."

"Never let a man hit you, Rima. If any man dares to lay a hand on you, call me up and I'll personally make sure he gets what he deserves."

I cried like a fool and I realized he was still hugging me. "I-I d-d-don't need y-your help."

"Cry. Release all of that sadness you've bottled up."

And so I did. I cried more and more until eventually my eyes had, seemingly, run dry. It was then that Fujisaki stopped hugging me.

"Mama always told me she was OK, and Papa never brought it up unless it was to tell me not to tell anyone." I sniffled, calming down.

"Things like that happen. It's awful, but it happens." He replied.

"You'd never do anything like that?"

"Of course not."

"Good." I said.

I softly tugged on his shirt and pulled him closer to me, resting my head against his chest. "You smell like ramen."

He chuckled. "So do you."

"It's because of you, Nagihiko."

"Wait, you called me 'Nagihiko' instead of 'Fujisaki'." He said, surprised.

"My mistake." I said, my consciousness slipping. _Crap… I hoped he wouldn't notice._

"Don't fall asleep. Not in the middle of a hallway."

My eyes closed. "Carry me to somewhere I _can_ sleep, then."

"Carry you?" He asked.

"Yes."

"Um, ok then."

He carried me bridal style as I wrapped my arms around his neck, and I was annoyed by the fact that he had placed his hand suspiciously close to my butt. Fortunately for him, my fatigue numbed my reflex to react.

"I knew you were thin, but I didn't realize how light you were." He commented. "You can't weigh more than eighty pounds."

"Is that a bad thing?" I mumbled

"As long as you're not doing anything unhealthy to be this weight, I guess it's fine."

The time passed slowly due to my slipping consciousness, but I realized that I felt comfortable in Fujisaki's arms. I feel nauseous now. I'm not _supposed_ to feel this way about him! I don't _want_ to feel this way about him! How _do_ I feel about him?

His arms were strong and his skin was warm…..

I must be delusional.

"You're not asleep yet are you?" He asked.

"Yes, I am. I'm sleep-talking." I said, and it partially wasn't sarcastic. With my eyes closed, and being so comfortable, I was half-asleep.

"Then I suppose you wouldn't care if I told you that you're extremely cute when you're drifting off to sleep."

"You're so creepy. You're lucky I'm too tired to care."

I could sense a smile on his face. "Just kidding."

"You know, if you confessed, I wouldn't kill you."

"Confess what? You don't believe in romantic feelings, remember?"

"Well, maybe there's something to them… I know it's all just chemicals and all, but I suppose there's a reason why those feelings are so precious to people."

"I'll confess if you do."

"I don't have anything to confess!" I protested.

"Then neither do I."

"Why can't you be honest?"

"I am being honest. If you're not willing to admit-"

"Stop right there. I'm going to clear this up right now: there is no romance going on between us. At all. If you think there is, that's your problem."

"Understood. Besides, I wouldn't fall for you anyways."

"Should I be offended?"

"Nah."

"Ok then." I said as I yawned. "I'm so tired."

"We're at Amu's dorm now." He chuckled. I could hear him twisting at the knob as he cursed under his breath. "Damn… locked."

He started knocking and when I heard gasps is when I knew the door was opened.

"THEY LOOK LIKE LOVERS!" Lulu squealed. "HE'S CARRYING HER LIKE A PRINCESS!"

"Damn it, Lulu! I'm trying to sleep, now I'm going to have nightmares." I said, opening my eyes.

"She was about to pass out in the middle of the hallway, so she asked me to carry her here." Fujisaki explained. "Don't jump to the wrong conclusion."

"I am disappoint." Eru complained.

"You mean disappoint_ed_?" He corrected.

"No. I am disappoint."

"Fujisaki, put me down. Now." I commanded, and he obeyed.

"Look, Rima… I don't know what came over me earlier." Amu whispered. "Sorry. I just wanted to one-up you, for once."

"Nothing to apologize for." I assured immediately, almost urgent. "Really, there is NOTHING to be sorry about. I really didn't care in the slightest, I just felt up to the challenge of a fight. It's my fault for keeping the secret, I just felt like it was my obligation. Also, if you want Fujisaki, go ahead. He's all yours; trust me, I don't want him."

"I don't really like him, I just wanted to see how you'd react. Oh, how I hate fighting with you." She said, sighing in relief.

"Because you never win." I teased.

Fujisaki rolled his eyes and muttered, "Well, this has all been fun, but weren't you going to sleep, Rima?"

"Yes." I said. "But the boys have to leave. I suppose that means you can stay, Fujisaki."

**Yeah, yeah. I'm extremely late, as usual Dx**

**It's all my fault; I've been wrapped up in three different stories that I'm trying to write but none of them have been published yet T_T **

**This chapter SUCKS, I know. I wasn't even finished, but I figured I haven't updated in a while, so now's better than never :P**

**I've also realized that I've somehow managed to write ONE day in this fic across eight chapters. Wow, I must be so boring.**

**I PROMISE, they'll actually have their first day of school in the next chapter :P**

**It was kind of… sad… writing about Rima's parents and I have idea why I chose that type of a background. I suppose I was looking for a way to explain Rima's disbelief in love (which is changing hehehehe) and I thought "Her parents fight a lot… but maybe I'll make it more dramatic, too". So, yeah… I realize domestic violence is a very sensitive issue, and I'm sorry if I offended anyone. If any of you know people in real life who suffer from domestic violence, please call for help because it's not something to be taken lightly. I apologize. **

**FAIR WARNING: next chapter will probably be extremely late, too.**

**My pregnant friend is getting a C-section on Wednesday, so for the next couple weeks, I'll probably be playing auntie to her baby.**

**Coddling a friend's baby tends to be time-consuming, no? ^^**

**Please review, despite the suckiness.**


	9. Not a chapter, but an announcement

**Hey guys. Long time no see! (Not that I ever did see you… that would be creepy.)**

**I'm just going to announce that I'm restarting this story! **

**I like the basic idea of the story (Rima accepts a bet that she has to sleep with Nagihiko even though she hates him but they end up falling for each other… sorta)**

**Yeah, I know I'm a perv… but even though I like that idea I don't like how the story's ended up so far.**

**I'll be restarting from chapter 1 and hopefully the story will be better-written and more planned out. **

**Understand though that I have things going on in my life at the moment: **

**I'm receiving help for bulimia, my mom's getting remarried, my friend had a baby, and my dog was put down. This all happened over the course of a few months (and my mom's wedding is very soon) so there are other things in my life that are more important and require more attention than writing fanfictions, (e.g. I'm still dealing with bulimia.)**

**If you'd like to talk to me, my contact information's on my profile. **


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